Funny how I waxed without hope
Before I ever came to know
The promise that suddenly warmed me
And keeps content my soul
As I continued to drift forward,
Throughout this physical tunnel
We all call the world.
And funny how easy it seemed,
After all the arduous pain
Of looking and looking,
And searching and wanting
To rest my tired self
With another to be close,
To love and to have and to hold.
Funny how easy it seemed!
Funny, sitting across from her,
Finally,
In that little Chinese restaurant,
A tiny crack-in-the-wall den,
With that placemat there before me,
That thing, once again,
With all the characters of the Chinese Zodiac
Illustrated and explained,
Just like that old one I once retained,
Once, that long, long time ago
From that other love now so vague and foreign.
But now the thing's in a brand-new form,
Pretty bright red with magic new borders,
And extended years projected,
For Oxen and Sheep and Dragons,
Monkeys and Tigers and Boars,
And a Rabbit once again in love with a Horse,
Only better and much, much more . . . .
With her tender blue eyes smiling sweetly;
Her delicate lips nibbling discreetly,
Yet talking and singing;
The rhythm of her gentle thoughts
Sporadically nourishing and comforting,
I saw a fortunate fate before me,
Like that wonderful paper placemat,
A culmination of all my past,
All wrested in one--many places, many faces,
Two people and something for which to give thanks,
All before me in one mesmerizing moment!
Something to really give thanks for, I see, finally.