he was a fool who thought he knew it all
and he could read her like a book

and when she couldn't read at all
he taught her how  
to sound it out

the As, the Es, Is, Os

you're only as old as you feel
in the very first grade
under a birch tree
born in Castle Comb
borne by angels
tracing letters in the name of the Lord

it was a Sunday morning
and when it started to rain
he took off his red and white
flannel shirt
and covered her as they walked away
from pastures
and into the parish

when the mass began
her mother handed her the bible
and when she opened it
to proverbs 13-15
she could only make out a couple of words

she looked for him when walking down the aisle
but what she didn't know
was he snuck out to the garden
because he loved her

and he would love her until the end of time

on their final days spent together
he gave her a tattered leather book
barely bound

and when she opened it
she found yellow tulip petals pressed
into the page

where she read

"in the heart of a man of understanding wisdom quietly rests, but she must make herself known to the inner self of fools"

proverbs 14:33