General   (General discussion, talk about anything.)

VENUS HAS RETURNED


Venus has returned.

Yes, to where she first left

that house,

in the year that death

closed its front door,

and to all that went before.

You will remember her:

walking up the lane,

eyes fixed as she passed.

You may remember that you hardly spoke

a word to her

and never asked,

how it felt to be Venus

in her blue jeans

and pretty shoes;

or,

how special it was to shine

like a crescent moon,

and to smile at you

from a crowded room.

She has passed number 82

and gone to live where her garden

looks on to the old fields.

It is here where she stands at midnight

looking back again,

and shining like a torch,

listening to the songs

that you should have shared.

Shall I ask her?

Shall I dare to be the go-between?

If I don't,

what will you do?

What will not unfold?

Tell me,

the Venus you barely knew in those lost years,

will she still be the same?

For once, I know

that she spoke kindly of you,

and smiled when I mentioned

your name.



Jarvo 2020