Lord I Thought at Least You’d Be Here by Elizabeth Metzger
Lord I Thought at Least You’d Be Here
Elizabeth Metzger
When the others knew you I knew of you.
Maybe you need to be reminded
how we met
whether it was romantic?Make it better
I hear you singing
with my earmake it better
make it betterWhen I lay next to you in life
only you had the life.Already you survive me.
Death after all that forethought is so green
in the dark like a wet kissbut Lord
I would give you up still for a person.
MARGINALIA
1.
My first encounter with the divine I had a yearning to write about it. It’s not anything grand—just a pocket of grace at a difficult time. Can I even call it divine, I asked myself. Maybe it’s just part of the ebb and flow of life. Maybe.
2.
Have you ever felt both a sense of longing and imbalance when face-to-face with the unknown? Have you ever confronted your mortal fragility and even wished sometimes to be in the after-all-this of things, where nothing hurt?
3.
What is transient but tangible. What weighs down your heart so that you remain anchored to this world. Tell me: what would you give up for your person?
KEEP READING
SOURCE
This poem appeared in The Yale Review, Summer 2023 issue, originally published June 12, 2023. Shared here with profound gratitude.
ENDNOTES
- Read more poems by Elizabeth Metzger • Find books by this poet • Or view my library
- Explore other works in pursuit of: surrender • being human • longing • Or browse the index
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Wayne A Gilbert
the weight is wait(ing): the denouement? desire.
what a great question!