(Teo Alfonso)

GIFT FROM THE HEART

                                        for Richard

The gift from the heart comes
when no-one expects it.
It might be anticipated,
but never forecast.
It might be dreamed of,
but never memorized.
It might be memorized,
but never learnt by heart.
It might learn to be pumped by heart,
but never be as aching as bloodspill.
It might make our blood rise,
but never let certain words fall.
They can fall, anyway,
like autumn
in the Secret Garden,
where no-one anticipates it.