19 January 2003
But the days seemed long
That lie between these embers
And a fire that burned so strong
But then you stood before me
With your laughing gaze
Ah, my love, my hurt, my hope, my fear
Of what you came to say
I thought you wanted answers
But you knelt and offered gifts
Eleven copper pennies
You held in your closed fist
You said, Choose you among them
Those finer than the rest
The shiniest, the oldest
Whichever way, the best
So you poured eleven pennies
Into my open hand
A treasure I could not choose among
Incalculable and grand
For in my hands these copper mites
Became the most lovely charms
Not merely a dozen trinkets
But enough to fill my arms
You said you'd return at sunrise
To see the choice I'd made
The you smiled and walked away
But would that you had stayed
So I could kneel at your feet
And refuse your gentle demand
I can no more choose among these
Than hold them in one hand
Passing years are easily reckoned
As we look upon our lives
But when we give them to each other
They become a precious prize