Ago - She Wanted A Love Poem

The following poem is from the section, "Secrets" of She Wanted A Love Poem, a collection of poems.

Ago

 Jacob stumbled out
Out of the barn,
Bits of hay still
Stuck to his knees,
A haunted look
On his face.

It's amazing
How one's world changes
In the course of
Two hours.

Three hours ago,
Jacob was in
His parents' kitchen
Trying to study
While Cressida cried
In her bassinet.

Two and a half hours ago,
He was walking around,
Trying to find somewhere
To study when he sees
Jebidiah's old barn.

Two hours  ago,
He was situated
In the loft of the barn,
His nose deep
In his text book,
Coming out only
To make notes.

One hour, forty five minutes ago,
He heard the barn door
Open and close,
Then two sets of foot steps.
Jacob ducked low,
Peeking over the edge
Of the loft.

One hour, thirty minutes ago,
Jacob watched
Pastor Elijah and Teacher Morris
Make love to each other,
Their sweaty bodies glistening
In the late afternoon sun.

One hour ago,
Jacob laid on his back,
Staring at the barn's ceiling
As he listened to
The two most respected men
In his closed in community
Get dressed. Sugarcoated
Endearments  interlacing
Their idle chatter.

Forty five minutes ago,
He listened as
The secret lovers exited
The barn, one then the other.
Jacob was too stunned
To move, he only started
To breathe normally
Five minutes ago.

Half an hour ago,
Most of his shock
Had subsided and
Jacob was packing
His books away.
He then climbed
Down the ladder,
Exiting the loft.

Fifteen minutes ago,
Jacob was staring
At the spot where
The two men had laid.
He could smell
A distinct scent
That he now associated
With what he saw.

Five  minutes ago,
An unidentifiable sound
Broke Jacob's trance,
Sending him stumbling
Out of the barn
Where he bumped
Into Pastor Elijah.

The young man and the old man
Stared at each other,
Both trying to decipher
What the other knew.
Jacob looked away,
Mumbling something under his breath,
Pastor Elijah just nodded,
Saying he was looking
For Jebidiah.

Jacob never looked
At the two men
The same again,
In fact, he didn't
Know what to think.
All he knew was
What he saw between
The two learned men
Was the most genuine
Depiction of love
He ever saw.

In the course
Of two hours,
Jacob's world shifted,
He discovered
That love  had
No limits.
Even in the most
Closed in, strict communities,
Love finds a way.

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of this collection
of poems,
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