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It seems a lifetime It seems a moment That I have watched the two of you There was a time I saw you with a teenager's arrogant eyes And smiled with smug superiority As you glided down the isle towards your red-headed fate with joy Garbed in your armour of innocence shining from within and without Then for the longest time you were But voices on the phone and a circle on the map... In distance so very far away, But in my soul - One heartbeat - that is all As I grew older my vision widened And I noticed so much more The tender touch of his hand upon your back or the caress across your cheek, The warmth that glowed from deep within your eyes Whenever he walked into the door That spoke of a love so fathomless deep Which in my youth and misguided complacency I could but vaguely perceive and understand not one bit When I think back - this was the time When those first tendrils of envy and sadness caressed my heart For I was witness to the fact of a love Not only told, but shown in a myriad small and wondrous ways. Time went by and your love stayed true I watched you raise your son with his spirit so wild and free And guide your tiny steel magnolia until She blossomed so straight and true Many times I thought Henry was too rigid and far too strict And watched with awe as my sister small with fragile looks and serenity which fool Weave her wise and womanly spell of love so deep that surrounds you all It is only upon looking back that I can see That the both of you fed from each others strengths and needs And built your fortress upon bedrock stone And stepped over the treacherous shifting sands Throughout the years I watched the love you openly share Saw it mature and mellow and shift And yet stay fresh and new each day This is what I wanted and craved for myself each day You were the living manifestation of the secret dreams within my heart Dreams that I watched shatter and die and seep away on the tide of life For I learned the lesson not to build upon solid rock And foolishly chose the shifting sands. That was the time that envy squeezed my heart in a merciless grip of death And I looked on your love with bitterness and defeat And sadness owned my soul For this envy and secret bitter thoughts I will always sorrow and be so ashamed For it is only now that I am finally free of the darkness in my life That I can see with total clarity how hard you worked - the both of you To nurture and keep this flame alive... The battles you fought together and each tear you shed throughout the years That forged another unbreakable link in the chain of your love MARTHA - with your velvet glove and your core of steel - Always stay exactly as you are Never change... But only grow As simple and complicated both at once As the daisies in the field. HENRY - with your visions in black and white, Who had to learn by trial of fire and pain That the grey around the edges of your life Are much needed to give fullness to your sight Stay as steadfast as you are - the unbendable oak With your roots spread deep and wide Love each other as you always have And keep the magic alive until your old and grey And even then continue to scandalise the world With the youth and vigour of your love For you have learned the secret true - That your hands clasped together in love Is the mightiest weapon of all For the bonds forged by this stays steadfast and real Unbreakably strong - no matter what. Naomi von Niewoldt December 2001 |
