Julia Fehrenbacher: "Recipe for Falling in Love"

The truth is
if we slowed down
and got close enough
we wouldn't be able to handle
the beauty

on this summer evening, everywhere
my eyes fall
another miracle
stares back

giant oaks spread out like gods
big-eared bunnies munching under open sky
blackberries plump on the vine
invite me to taste their almost sweet
insides. As I round the corner
I lock eyes with three deer—all of us still
and staring. With our eyes
we say—I love you. Winged ones
I cannot see sing
their end-of-the-day lullaby

each step
lifts me higher
until at last, breathing more deeply
than I have in a long time
I see

the whole wide sweeping
tree-filled valley. And then—I weep
for, truly I cannot handle the beauty
even from this distance. Then—
I would not make this up
a whole family of wild turkeys
cross the trail in front of me—each one pausing
to wait for the next. All of this

my heart
gets to see, to feel—to memorize. With light
now fading
I begin my long slow
walk home

slow enough to notice
golden grass bent in prayer
slow enough
to bend too—praying
that I will never stop
seeing

praying that I will walk
slow enough to fall in love
again and again
and again

even if it makes me weep
even it feels too much to handle

praying
that each step draws me close
and closer still



"Recipe for Falling in Love" by Julia Fehrenbacher. Text presented here by poet submission. © Julia Fehrenbacher.

Art credit: "Turkeys on the Deer Trail," oil painting on canvas by Kenneth Helgren.