6/19/19

The Night I Walked by the Willow Tree

Was a night that found itself in the back of my album of memories

A night when I walked alone on the path of gravel

Pathologically alone

Until I saw them under the tree

Everything was red when I listened to Beyoncé and heard

The sirens in the background

I didn’t know where I was going, I didn’t know what to look up to

As the sun had set and I wanted to walk on the bridge

But something in me said that it was what I needed to see first

People say that what we need most in life is affection

That the point of life is love

That the only thing that could exist between you and your lover is God

So that eventually they weld into one thing

All-knowing and all-loving

People say people have one true love in a lifetime

I didn’t believe this, I didn’t find the significance in these words

Until I saw how he held her under the willow tree

I didn’t know if I was dreaming

If I was hallucinating because God was showing me something

If God was talking through actions like he does in my dreams

I knew I was awake, but it felt like a slipping into the subconsciousness

It felt like I was watching a dream, something romantic yet practical

He was behind her, his arms around her, and she melted into him

I was pretty sure he was the black-curly-haired boy

And she was the red head from my faith class freshman year

But I didn’t know if it was real, I still don’t

And just to see such a sight stays with me today as something I need to feel okay

Because it reminds me that an option to life is love

And when one has it, there is nothing left but to embrace it

And hope it never leaves