Hi

In a night of drink and merry,
Declare did I to my lads,
“Her smile will light up the heavens,
Her eyes mischievous and kind,
Her hair darker than the raven,
Her skin like the moon will shine”

“A ravenous beauty is she,
The heart of a child inside”
Where, you dreamer, said they,
Will you find such a bride?

So I waited one morning,
By the countryside
Heart in hand, Rose in the other
Nervous, excited, a fish on land

I sat by the river,
Playing a song,
Watching the ripples,
And humming along.

My thoughts scurried --
Was it Fate I was after?
Was this meant to be?
Or just another chapter
Among dusty memories?

She unsettled me,
Why was I even here?
A new possibility I felt,
Yet strangely familiar

Will she come, will she show?
My mind it sank to fear
How long I sat, I do not know
A day, a month, a year?

My heart it grew to long and yearn
The silence then it broke --
A soft brushing of slender legs,
A pleasing tinkle of anklets,
I paused my breath and turned

Eyes wild, sparkling, mischievous
Hair dark as the Raven's feather
A queen she looked, an empress
A lighthouse in stormy weather

Her hips gentle, undulated
Her skin, like the moon it glowed
Her smile, a gentle brook flowing
Even Time, as witness, stood still

Oh! Was she a sight to behold!
An ancient beauty
From Nobler times
From times 'twere lost and old

My gaze met hers,
Sparks they flew,
A page from some lasting book
I smiled and looked
In that fleeting moment,
At eyes with life anew

How queer a thing
A simple sound,
A trope so tried and wrought
A phrase I utter,
Day in and out
To strangers long forgot

It changed me through,
This simple word,
Though try I can't deny
That time I turned
And said to her,
One little syllable --
“Hi.”


H.