The First Time I Saw You--By Michael Escoubas--United States

The First Time I Saw You

you danced with lilacs scenting

the spring air. Petunias and bluebells

clapped their hands. Forsythia

and red bud tangled in a clash

of color. When you turned,

your yellow hair shifted shoulders.

I thought your eyes caught mine,

but I couldn’t let you know

I saw you seeing me. I thought,

who would look at this clod in the field?

I’m uncool, except for hearing

poetry’s music. This mistress

of words holds me, yet denies

completeness. But, in you I feel

poetry’s promises. The brushings

of your dress gives voice and image

to lines crying for habitation. You

live in these lines, after all these years,

as from the first time I saw you.

Previously Published in the July 2016 Issue of Episteme Online Poetry Journal.

After retiring from a 48-year career in the printing industry in 2013, Michael Escoubas began writing poetry for publication. His study of and interest in poetry goes back some 30 years. During this time he studied classical and modern poets learning from their works and from critics who comment about them. Michael writes poetry in part because his mother once said, “You have a gift for words; you should do something with that gift.”