And she wants to know
how I stuck that time
in London
and not the country

and why did I
not want to be
in the countryside
and it is a sunny day

and clouds are so white
it seems as if an artist
has painted them
and as she speaks

I sense her there
beside me
and she talks
about how her father

manages the church
and how she first
remembered the walk
through snow

when she was young
and how her father
carried her
on his shoulders

and she saw
her first sparrowhawk
and how grand
and powerful it seemed

above them
and I want to be near her
to be able to breath
her in as we walk

and maybe hold
her hand
but I can't
bring myself

to reach out
unless she
does so first
not wanting to seem

presumptuous
or too forward  
and we walk
down the lane

beside my parent's cottage
and talk of London
and how there were
street lamps

and the trains moving
over the railway bridge
all night and coal trucks
being shunted

all the time night
and day
and the dust
of the coal

gets everywhere
but one doesn't notice
and she looks at me
and I want to swim

in her eyes
and she says glad
you're here now
and we are here together

and her hand
touches mine
and I want it
to be there always

her hand in mine
and know it won't
but wish it so
and wish I could

carry her
on my shoulders
through knee deep
white snow.