Andrew’s Letter

The glimmer

In a mirror 

Is mysterious

The image

Carries dreams

It's bright

As the light

Emitted from

Starry beams

As radiant

As Sirius the dog 

I traversed

The world

And for

A minute

I thought

I was

Phileas Fogg

Going through

Various continents

In order

To find you

For you were

Missing and lost

I’ve envisioned

A plan, a scheme

I will present

A gold ring

In a box

Darling

Can I ask

For you hand 

To be given

In marriage

Please?

Exchange

'Miss' for 'Mrs'

And swap 

Your surname

For mine

I mean, Asquith

Is exquisite

But surely

You must admit

Cavendish

Is sublime?

Our roles

Respectively 

Are the

Teacher

And taught

Student

Like Plato

And Aristotle

Peter Paul

Ruebens

And Dyck

I went to meet

Your mum

Judith

At night

Saying to her

“I need some more

Prudent advice”

On how

To proceed

And move

It forward

With dating

Your daughter

If I could

I would do it

Today or tomorrow

But I realise

Our angles

In relation

To each other

Need to be

Congruent

And aligned

So to prevent

The Titanic

We need to

Test the ice

Before we say

‘Yes’ and try

Marriage

We ought

To know

What’s truly our

Connection

And dynamic

Is there discord

In the chords?

Can our rhythm

Be expressed

As Iambic?

You’re

A dashing lady

Calm

And composed

I’m the opposite

Full of energy

Restless

My mind’s manic

But I am

A cultured man

Having

A taste for art

I once saw

An image

By an

Impressionist

A fine canvas

It depicted

A lavish stream 

Of steam

From engines 

At a station

In the city

Of Paris

It reminded me

Of how love

Can be like

Steam or smoke

Transient

For in an instant

It can vanish

I never

Intended

For our

Romance

To be

Intermittent

Sporadic

On the contrary

I wanted it

To be infinite

Cemented

Like granite

I want your love

If it’s gifted

And granted

To have it

I'd be contented

As a cat

With cream

I know

Our love is real

Not invented

Or imagined

Like characters

In a story

If it were

We'd be

The central

Protagonists

If our love

Is ever

Extinguished

Or damaged

We ought not

To be stricken

With sadness

For nothing

In this world

Is ever

Permitted

To last

Memories live

In the past

But we have

Hopes for

The future

In time a seed

Will grow

With soil

Weather

Compost

Or manure

You’re so

Stunning that

You turned me

To stone

You’re Medusa

Why do you think

I travelled

The whole earth?

All over, but still

Couldn’t find you

That is, until

I soul-searched

In Europe

And found you

In Estonia

I knew I would

Cause my heart

Can’t help but

Go where

There’s true love