Poetry by: Tim Wellman
{ Gabrielle Remembers } { Promises } { The Gift } { Hold } { A Word }
{ Shelter } { Wedding Day } { Night } {Another Time } {Watching }
{ Back to Tim's Poetry Page }
It was a different time,
we ran through a thousand dreams,
a thousand places we'd never see again,
guided only by the moment, the soft
sun's glow on our bodies.
I remember her standing, so proud,
unmoved by everything... well,
everything but me. How I adored her then,
my warrior, the smell of her hair,
the steel blue eyes that could melt so easily.
It was a different time,
so far away from where I am now,
so far from where I ever wanted to be,
because you see, I only ever wanted to be
by her side.
Sometimes, late at night,
the wind through the trees caresses
a familiar sound, a memory of her voice
calling me, sternly, asking why I left...
why I didn't follow her in death.
And I wonder, late at night,
sometimes as I lie awake...
but no... these are the musings of an old woman
fallen into her dotage alone,
in an unwanted peace, dreaming of old battles.
{ The Gift } { Hold } { A Word } { Shelter } { Wedding Day }
{ Night } {Another Time } {Watching } { Top of Page }
We made a deal, once, as a fire softly burned,
as a memory blurred the line between the past
and present... a promise, a few passing words.
So much has changed, now, so many fires,
so many words, but I remember at times, the touch
of your finger across my cheek catching a tear,
the soft, tentative hand on my shoulder,
and sometimes now, I catch a glimpse of your eyes
without you seeing, and wonder if you know
how hard that simple promise was to make.
I pray you never know the struggle, the battles
raging in my mind... and if it's so difficult now
to keep back the monster I once was...
how could I do it without you?
Sweet bard, keeper of my soul,
I have created a promise from you,
a promise I hold as a key to my heart.
It's a promise you keep with every smile.
{ The Gift } { Hold } { A Word } { Shelter } { Wedding Day }
{ Night } {Another Time } {Watching } { Top of Page }
I would give to you myself
as a gift: my soul, the beat
of my heart to hold in your hands,
the warmth of my body to calm you.
But how do I give you what is already yours.
So, this night, I hold you,
so afraid to touch you,
and listen to your stories
like a child, comforted by your breath
on my face--by your voice,
imagining other words,
another world where this embrace would
never end.
I know, as morning breaks,
the moment will be lost,
but for now, speak softly, sweet child,
and let me dream
my gift to you,
is your gift to me.
{ Promises }{ Hold } { A Word } { Shelter } { Wedding Day }
{ Night } {Another Time } {Watching } { Top of Page }
I've touched your face
a thousand times, to kiss your cheek,
to wipe a tear, but everytime
I linger...
I hold my breath, trying to
hold the moment in mind,
and wonder, do you really know?
Gabrielle, how lost I would be
without the warmth of your body to guide me,
without your smile to anchor me
to this journey I share with you.
Only friend, hold me
in your thoughts and I could never
stray. This road is long,
I wouldn't have the strength to travel
it without you.
{ Promises }{ The Gift } { A Word } { Shelter } { Wedding Day }
{ Night } {Another Time } {Watching } { Top of Page }
In time I will forget
the battles, the pain, the
journey, someday, but as the last breath
passes away, I will whisper, 'Gabrielle.'
I hold the flower,
and inhale the bouquet
of a thousand stories, wanting only
to catch your heart in
an unprotected moment,
and feel the soft rhythm in my hands,
to stay the raging battle in my soul,
to play the lyric of your name.
Forever falling into your eyes,
I drown in a chorus of the word,
the beat of each syllable
heightening the music of a met stare.
'Gabrielle,' too precious a gift
for my lips to waste, but
so sweet the taste, I repeat
'Gabrielle'.
{ Promises }{ The Gift } { Hold } { Shelter } { Wedding Day }
{ Night } {Another Time } {Watching } { Top of Page }
If I run to you when I'm frightened,
it is only because your touch
stops my foolish heart
from racing...
I would crawl inside your soul
and rest like a child,
safe in the arms of a loving mother,
if... I dream too much,
I know. You told me once
about love and I didn't understand,
kissed my cheek and I never knew.
Sweet warrior, protect me
from myself.
I unfold my dreams in your eyes
like flowers, and still...
such silly imaginings: afraid of shadows
and words, afraid of being alone.
You speak my name, and
I find shelter in your voice.
I bend beneath your wings
and rest... I feel your touch
and sleep.
{ Promises }{ The Gift } { Hold } { A Word } { Wedding Day }
{ Night } {Another Time } {Watching } { Top of Page }
What a journey we had,
my friend, at times seeming
endless, stretching out before us,
an open road to anywhere.
And now... it's hard to believe
it ends like this, parting
with a kiss, and...
Oh, tell me I see a tear
in your eye; tell me not to go;
wrap your arms around me
so tightly I can't pull away.
Xena, you've saved me so many times...
Now, I don't look for safety in your eyes,
I look for an answer.
I can't stand without you;
I can't imagine you
without me... alone, to face
your demons, to travel in silence
and solitude, without my voice
to guide you. But, me?
You gave me my life...
how do I live it without you?
How do I let go of the memory...
forget you, and end the adventure?
{ Promises }{ The Gift } { Hold } { A Word } { Shelter }
{ Night } {Another Time } {Watching } { Top of Page }
A rare night, you rest and listen
to my stories, forgetting battle,
sweet warrior princess, forgetting
to raise your defenses,
and I tell you things you've heard,
afraid the words I want to say
will close your heart,
will make you hate me.
Again, a fleeting thought
causes me to drop the thread
and weave a simpler tale,
but what I want to say, is...
does it even matter? I
wait for a friendly touch
and melt, a soft word and fall,
all the time, holding your name
on my lips like a soft breath,
wanting, in a quiet moment like this,
to tell you I love you.
{ Promises }{ The Gift } { Hold } { A Word } { Shelter } { Wedding Day }
{Another Time } {Watching } { Top of Page }
Another time we pass this way
there may be time to linger, to
hold more than a thought of love,
to touch without flinching.
I know it's different between us;
it's never simple to just stop
the frenzied world and live
in the soft dream of peace,
slowing to find a reflected smile
in each other's eyes,
or hearing a surrendered sigh. The
journey, never ending, beckons us...
the adventure that brought us
together, works to keep us apart.
But sometimes, when the night stops
your warrior heart from racing,
when there is no sound but your breathing,
I think, another time,
in some other place, I could
be happy just to hold you,
to feel your tender kiss. We
seem forever tethered to something
gently pulling us away,
but, when the quest is ended, someday,
we could quietly lay and listen
to each other's hearts beat,
and slow to quiet sleep, dreaming
other times we meet and fall
and smile... and maybe in a thousand
worlds we find ourselves, if in
only one, I could find your love waiting,
the journey would be worth the pain.
{ Promises }{ The Gift } { Hold } { A Word } { Shelter }
{ Wedding Day } { Night } {Watching } { Top of Page }
Morning, and you're waking...
I watch reality replace the dream
in your eyes, and as you smile,
I turn and hide, afraid, somehow,
you know I watched you while you slept.
Slowly, the woman changes to warrior,
and what I thought was nearly possible
in the dark, now becomes a foolish notion,
the wanderings of my childish mind,
intangling itself in the stillness
of sleep. I turn and smile,
and touch your arm, wanting to pause
long enough to touch your soul,
and I say something to break the silence,
but all the words are wrong.
So, I stop, and wait the day away,
to lie again by a glowing fire
and pretend you understand the ramblings
of my breaking heart.
{ Promises }{ The Gift } { Hold } { A Word } { Shelter }
{ Wedding Day } { Night } {Another Time } { Top of Page }