Most of the time you don’t know, in the moment itself, the moments that will return to you for the rest of your life. The look on your daughter’s face that day, the way his hand felt when he held yours on the train. You don’t know when a moment will be the last time you see her, the last time you hear his voice.

But sometimes, even as a moment is happening, you know that it will be with you forever. That you will always be held inside its laughter, its love, its pure happiness and comfort, and that you will wish you were still in that moment. Even as you experience it, you are letting it go and you are wishing it back. Those are the moments that shiver your heart.

O Best of All Nights, Return and Return Again, by James Laughlin

How she let her long hair down over her shoulders, making a
love cave around her face. Return and return again.
How when the lamplight was lowered she pressed against
him, twining her fingers in his. Return and return again.
How their legs swam together like dolphins and their toes
played like little tunnies. Return and return again.
How she sat beside him cross-legged, telling him stories of
her childhood. Return and return again.
How she closed her eyes when his were open, how they
breathed together, breathing each other. Return and return again.
How they fell into slumber, their bodies curled together like
two spoons. Return and return again.
How they went together to Otherwhere, the fairest land they
had ever seen. Return and return again.
O best of all nights, return and return again.


Click here for more information about James Laughlin.

alisonmcghee.com

Words by Winter: my podcast