when you proposed
on the porch of our little hut in Belize
I was completely speechless
and just kept smiling
and crying
at one point
noticing no response had been given
you said
you should probably
say yes, now
and laughing
from joy and because
it was really funny
and so disingenuous and you
I said okay
okay?
okay?
I don’t
even get a
yes?
and because it was part of the
beauty of the moment
we just laughed
and reveled in the
unspoken but heartfelt yes
in hindsight
from the vantage point
of love and years
and the veil of grief
freshly worn
I wish I had
found the words
to accept this
proposal, this gift, with
clarity
instead of okay
I wish I had said
yes, yes
a thousand times
yes!
but then, again
that would have been Jane Austen’s response
instead
of
mine
