Remember the champagne?
It exploded all over us
In such wild enthusiasm,
With laughter and sweetness
And a caring,
Deeply felt and deeply meant.
Such a light beginning.
A mist so fine
It was unseen,
Until it drenched us.
Was it seduction?
Or, careless innocence?
I remember us gulping its exuberance,
Its fullness,
Drunken in its excitement.
And I remember the tenderness,
The subtle elegance.
And I remember the joking,
The pretending,
As we came slowly together.
I remember too the pain,
The anguish,
The overbearing hopelessness.
And I remember
Your lightly dancing finger tips,
Their intensity,
Their artistry.
It never was anyone’s but ours,
And it never will be
Anyone’s but ours
To savor,
Each time we fondle
An unfinished glass of champagne.
James K. Richardson