The Earring

Well, I just picked up your earring
And driving back to work now
I am stopped at a red light
I open the box for another look
As the sunlight hits the stone
I am absolutely stunned by its beauty
It's so beautiful, it's perfect
Exactly what I wanted for you
The stone seems to be cut into
More facets than the other diamond
The other diamond...

I remember when I gave it to you
It was the very first morning
Of our two weeks together
We had decided to go out for breakfast
As we were getting ready
I was in the bathroom
And I noticed my earrings
I wore a pair of silver hoops
And a small diamond on the left
And the thought occurred to me
That since I only wore
One of my diamond earrings
That I'd give you the other one
I wanted you to have it
As a symbol of my love for you
I walked into the bedroom
Where you were dressing
And I sat down on the chest
At the foot of the bed
Rolling the diamond between my fingers
As I watched you move around the room
Taking things out of your bags
My mood suddenly changed
As I imagined watching
You repack those bags
I just sat there
Staring at the diamond
And at that moment
I knew I wanted you to have it
To take a part of me with you
You were important to me
And I wanted you to have
Something of mine
That meant a lot to me
You noticed the sadness on my face
And asked if I was ok
I shook my head no
You crouched down in front of me
And asked if I was missing you already
Which I was, you said it was ok
That you understood
I held out the earring to you
You looked at it, then back to me
With a questioning look
I told you that I wanted you to have it
And I told you why
You asked if I was sure
And at that moment I was
But as the day went on
I realized I wasn't so sure
That I could actually part with it
I began to worry about it
And how I'd feel if it were lost
That evening we talked
I explained to you that
My parents had given me
A diamond pendant
And a pair of earrings
For several reasons actually
For my eighteenth birthday
The prom and graduation
The events all happened
Around the same time
I still wore one of the earrings
Out of love and respect for them
For my first real pieces of jewelry
You asked if I wanted it back
I said yes, and with a smile
You took out the earring
And handed it back to me
Saying that you understood
Apparently the earring had more
Sentimental value than I'd first thought
But I still felt bad about giving it to you
Then taking it back
Then I remembered that
I did have another diamond
It was a pendant my ex had given me
The stone was larger than my earring
Which was really too small
For the top part of your ear anyway
I opened my jewelry box, handed it to you
You liked it, it could definitely be seen
On Monday, I went by the jewelry store
Later on that week, you put the earring in your ear
Saying whether we knew it or not
We were making unspoken promises
I think we knew though
I felt so proud and so honored
Seeing my diamond in your ear
But now that earring is gone
We've looked all over the house
Even four months later
There is still no sign of it
I'm glad I didn't replace it right away
Not that I could have afforded to
But it gave me time
To deal with the loss
And time to anticipate
Giving you the new earring

At the next stoplight
I look at the earring again
And the meaning of the moment
Completely fills me with love for you
Tears silently spill down my cheeks
This earring means so much more to me
Than the other one
This one has no previous history
This one will be yours
And yours alone
A symbol of the depth
Of my love and devotion for you
It almost feels like
I'm giving you an engagement ring
I'm so excited I can hardly wait
For next week to arrive
For Valentine's Day
That's when I plan to give you
The earring

2.8.02