Fairy Tale Girl
for Tatiana Legáspy Alegría

light and water in her eyes
earrings I provided, mailed to her
got to her -
prayed that they would
and they did
what a joy it was
when they arrived

recall her e-mail telling me
of the call from the library to say
there was a package there for her

recall her telling me
that her mom or dad
had agreed to pick them up

photograph on facebook
of her wearing them was confirmation
they had arrived for sure

what a smile she wore
no woman on the globe
able to smile more sweetly

with earrings, with stones, one pink,
one green, she wears pink top-
fitting as well- as tight as her skin fits

and no one prettier
than she is in this picture,
smiling, with light,
with water in her eyes

my God,
for how long we have lived
without a word exchanged
without a word passing
between us

thought I did not love her anymore
thought our relationship was over
and done with

stumbled upon this picture of her
accompanying a poem on my blog

going on fifteen minutes
and I've been unable to look away

taken in again
by a look steadfast
by loveliness that cannot easily
be surpassed

available to be loyal to her
able to love her again right now
like I used to once
with all my heart, with all my soul

is it convenient, I wonder
for her to receive me, to have me back

my fairy tale girl
about a hundred poems written of her
since our encounter, in Costa Rica
when she was 16
I add this one to

want to return to looking
at photos of her and being aroused

want to return to being attached
in one way or another
and being inspired to write
more poems

Oh, Lord,
for communication to commence
between us
once again

our deep friendship
our countries tied together
by our tie

how deeply in love I used to be
can that emotional depth
be recovered

like precious things lost
in wreck that sank
to the sea bottom
worth going to the bottom after
worth going to the bottom for

I will be sifting
through pictures of her again
to pass the time-
for what I could find

to recover what I feared was lost
what I now want back

we have a history to extend
to add to

thread between us
so many times multiplied
multicolored, too strong to break
or to take for granted

since I was born, no woman
encountered more precious

born again in her
born again in me

together we make rainbows
great big arcs above Limón,
city in Costa Rica where we met
where she lives, where she was born

I will have to go back there
when I am unable to bear
absence, the gap between
when I saw her first
when I saw her last

widening and widening
like planets, drifting
further and further away
further and further apart


© Obediah Michael Smith, 2012
7:34 a.m. 10.09.12