Tremble before me
I said,
Shake
For there is something so powerful beating in my chest
I hear it thump against the heavens
Tremble before me
And quake
In the wake of these passions
In the wake of the glorious
Mundane moments we didn’t even realise we were wishing for
Until now
Tremble before me and shake
Lips quiver
Stomach quakes
The walls of Troy fall
I had promised to build a fortress around myself
Impervious to fire and all other things
But a precocious vine anchored itself to the bricks
Setting swiftly into the strong foundations I had built here
It chose not to undermine them but wove itself in
Reinforcing the structure and lending
A little flexibility that had been chipped away
With the old rotten plaster.
It dressed those walls with papery blossoms and violently vibrant foliage
That forced me to look at them twice
I kicked over the falling leaves in wonder
Noticing that this had
Crept up upon me in a delicious but fated surprise
And I Laughed
I roared with delight
For the first time in an age of ages.
I stood there
My own flawed and crumbling self
And this beautifully dishevelled friend
Wove his fingers between mine
And promised we would not be losing but gaining
And I trembled before him as he said it
Because I could see that there
Was something so powerful beating in his chest
And I heard it thump against the heavens.
But the sky did not come crashing down
Even with the clamour
Of these two ridiculous hearts
The rain did not shake from the clouds
And satellites continued to orbit in their paths
Nobody really noticed
Unless they were already looking closely
But for the two of us the world tilted on its axis
And shifted somewhere
A little towards the light
Tremble before me
I said,
Shake
Lips quivered
Stomach quaked
And flipped in somersaults when he broke into a smile.
And we followed on
Electric shocks in a glance
Conspiring but careful hearts
But giving in
In the wake of these passions
In the wake of the glorious
Mundane moments we didn’t even realise we were wishing for
Until now
And the walls of Troy fell down
But a new fortress begins to rise
Yet to see conflict
And constructed with care and with kindness
With hope
And the trembling touch
Of hands
His hands and mine
Our hands
Shaking with not fear
But excitement.
For there is something so powerful beating in our chests
We hear it thump against the heavens.