“Yesterday, When I Was Young” – one of Charles Aznavour’s greatest songs. Today 22 May 2024 is the centenary of his birth. And on Day 536 of the daily poems our poet Mary L Walsh finds a rich, heady summer blossom of love … sing it, Mary!
Fragility
I found the fragility of love,
I don’t mean frugality.
A full sumptuous, rich, heady summer blossom
music drifting across the manicured lawn
a bright Latin dance of passion
It was bracing, unbreaking and good
with strong flavours of hope
bolstered by the heat of the day
where every sense could be used again.
I trusted in the judgment of time
I had a practical attitude so
when I thought “Gosh! He’s hunky.”
I’d be resilient and stand against the sinewy tendons
that pulled me towards unfaithful emotions
to find the trusted truth in another.
I tried to be hardy so that I didn’t get in a pickle
used my instincts to keep a robust heart.
I stroked the roses, releasing their scent.
I found that love had the sweetness of toffee in a tray,
the sharpness of pickles too long in the brine of life.
And so, I found that I could trust
in the robustness of your love
at the meadow
bank on a fund for the future.
Mary L Walsh