At Summer’s End by Alexandra Ernst

In the ocean of eyes,

yours like a late summer pond,

sunlight and darkness uniting,

take me by surprise.

How did I live

not even knowing

that I was waiting for you,

not knowing that

your slow-burning embers

next to me,

to me trembling

to be with you,

could make for such longing,

such whole-hearted delight?

For the world changes

with touches of beauty

and the opening of feeling.

Mystery in the brightness

is my undoing, and doing

is love without knowing.

Can we meet somewhere

to hold together the wind?

Can we follow each other’s footsteps

to the center of our dreams?

Would you see me as I am?

My poetry has appeared in various literary journals including IO MAGAZINE, THE MINETTA REVIEW, THE ANTHOLOGY OF NEW ENGLAND WRITERS and, most recently, in the May/June issue 2008 issue of ALL THINGS GIRL. Though I have lived in Paris for the past 18 years, I spend each summer hiking with my husband and two small children in the Adirondacks and in my home state of Vermont.