(Dedicated to my wife Kailie, who I first kissed on the first day of Spring, two years ago).
I only ever knew a little French
To read,
a bit to speak,
I flirted with the language but never committed.
You saw me play piano.
You loved me first.
You loved the flirting,
but were scared to commit.
That would change.
Unlike my fascination with French,
which comes and goes,
ebbs and flows,
My fascination with you
turned to infatuation,
turned to conflagration of the heart –
turned to an ever burning flame of love.
Who would have thought
two years ago, today
that things would end up this way?
Who would’ve thought
Our Spring Rendezvous
would end with us both
saying ‘I DO’…
Unlike my love for French
which learning, my intellect rejects,
I want to know you, and keep knowing you
for the rest of my life.
And as Spring turns to Summer,
to Fall and to Winter,
I know that this garden we’ve planted
will never wither,
but grow,
through rain and sleet and snow,
through heatwaves and hurricanes,
through earthquakes and growing pains,
I will always remember our first kiss on the first day of Spring…
I will always remember our Spring Rendevouz…
And forever more, my heart will sing,
again and again,
without beginning or end,
I DO.
Andre Darius Labuschagne is a poet, pastor and musician from Johannesburg, South Africa.