Poem: I Promise

I can’t promise never to hurt you,
but I promise anyway,
because that’s what people do.
It’s late, and the moon through the window
is almost full, like a person striving
to get life right, but not yet there.
Your breathing is a constant,
like the music of the night air,
and the buzzing of a crane fly at the window.
I can’t promise never to hurt you
but I do promise it,
I do.

* * *
Wael Abdelgawad
September 15, 2016
Fresno, California