Back to Her Roots

Down a lively street in Maryland,
time stood still for two
they pulled up in a limo.
Not for show,
but as a testament to a relationship of many riches.

A return.
To a place
where love was first born
Where he saw her for the first time,
not just as a woman across the room,
but as the woman.

They had been living in Philly
his city, his roots
but today,
he brought her to her old home in Maryland.

Phillips still stood,
just as they left it,
weathered by time,
but its light shining brighter than ever.

He ordered a black angus burger,
Her the roasted oysters,
chardonnay to pair
just like that night.

Her smile this night beamed brighter than a thousand suns,
and something in him broke open again,
quietly,
like a forgotten song resurfacing.

He watched her.
With the depth of a man
who’s known a lifetime of her laughter,
her silences,
her strength.

After the meal,
beneath soft valet lights,
he took her hands
and she accepted.

He said to her:
“Sixty years ago,
this street, this night,
gave me the first spark
that burns brighter still.

Happy Fifty-eighth anniversary,
my sentiments through our years together remain untouched
my heart as full as the first day we met
sixty years ago.”

No crowd.
No music.
Just the two of them,
love,
still full.
Still growing.
Still here.