Something Inside

something inside

doesn’t get too old

for love.

so, when i look

at you

i still have to watch

the catch in my breath.

something inside

still inside of me,

hasn’t gotten too

old, to love a

certain smell or smile,

or grab a certain look or laugh

for my heart’s sake.

something inside my

heart

gets glad

when i hear your voice,

or sad, if sad is what

you are.

when i think about you,

i can still feel

the way i did when i

first met you,

almost fifteen years

ago.

something inside

people

doesn’t get too

old for

love.

Notes:

From A Train Called Judah (Eden Press, 1998). Reproduced with permission of Nina Rodgers Gordon.

This poem is part of the portfolio “Carolyn Marie Rodgers: What Beauty We Now Have” from the October 2022 issue.

Source: Poetry (October 2022)