Testimonial

Back when the earth was new

and heaven just a whisper,

back when the names of things

hadn't had time to stick;

back when the smallest breezes

melted summer into autumn,

when all the poplars quivered

sweetly in rank and file . . .

the world called, and I answered.

Each glance ignited to a gaze.

I caught my breath and called that life,

swooned between spoonfuls of lemon sorbet.

I was pirouette and flourish,

I was filigree and flame.

How could I count my blessings

when I didn't know their names?

Back when everything was still to come,

luck leaked out everywhere.

I gave my promise to the world,

and the world followed me here.

Copyright Credit: Rita Dove, "Testimonial" from On the Bus With Rosa Parks. Copyright © 1999 by Rita Dove. Used by permission of the author and W. W. Norton & Company, Inc.

Source: Poetry (January 1998)