Evelyn Klebert

I wander through gardens,
through mazes in the shadows,
thorns prick at my skin
scraping and tearing.
I wander through places of overgrown tangles.
And see glimpses  and catch fragments of other lives
and other paths.
I wander through gardens
and only catch a brief semblance
of others lives, hopes,
and pains that wrap around like wild vines.
Of course I couldn’t hope to know and really understand
but in the passing of an instance
I feel its semblance,
and think I hear another heartbeat
as they wind round their own
path,
and footsteps wrap round their own
wild vines.

My truth whispers
while the crowd roars by; it quietly bends
and turns
yet remains strong in its essence.
My truth reminds me
of a beacon through the shadows
of the shining light
guiding me through the lost days.
Our truth reminds me of how
far we have traveled,
of how much we have overcome
against predictions and preoccupations.
Our strength is my truth,
our connection the chord
that binds me
yet is my armor.
You are my constant
while the rest fades away with a sinking sun,
you are my constant.

It’s hard to explain it
to someone who doesn’t know
who hasn’t walked a step in these particular shoes.
One moment you are the center of your life,
and in the next the universe shifts a bit
and someone else changes the gravity.
Someone who needs you completely,
for survival, for affection,
for all the essentials that make us human.
And then minute by minute they grow,
get stronger and more independent,
more separate,
someone who was literally
physically closer to you once
than anyone else could ever be.
But it is your greatest wish
and fiercest desire that they become strong enough
one day to go out and chase their own happiness.
It’s hard to explain it
to someone who doesn’t understand.
To give all that time and attention
so that another can forge their own life.
It’s hard to explain why
it’s the greatest joy to see it happen,
watching that child stretch its wings
and begin to carve its own place
in the world.