yellowpigs.net

Hands

Sara Smollett

August 27, 1995

I have known hands.

I have known hands,
with cool fingertips on a warm summer's day
and with warmth on a cool night.

I have known hands,
smooth strong hands
that lovingly carressed skin.

I have known hands,
that guided, led me.

I have known hands
that threw frisbees,
played ping-pong, shuffled cards,
drew intricate mazes, typed equations,
hands that made the violin sing.

I have known hands
as if in a mirror,
the same yet reversed.

I have known hands
that juggled their way through life.

I have known hands
that talked,
and I understood their story.

I have known hands
that danced, yet knew the tango least of all.
(for that is the lovers' quarrel)

I have known hands
that sang in the rain
of sweet melancholy love songs.

I have known hands
that comforted, soothed, massaged.

I have known hands
that I knew best laced through mine,
when we were delightfully unaware of the world around us.

I have known hands
that left a key,
possibly without knowing it.

I have known hands
that caught tears early one morning
when most of the world was still asleep and undisturbed.

I have known hands
outstretched and ready to help.

I have known hands
that loved, that cared.

I have known hands
that were always there,
that are still there in my mind.