'Returning in January' opens with a small shock of gratitude: after two years away, the speaker is remembered. That exclamation—'yet you remember me!'—carries surprise and relief. January’s cold backdrop makes the remembered warmth feel especially vivid. The relationship seems to have been shaped by distance or hesitation; the pair both sense a love that never quite 'met,' a feeling real but not fully realized in ordinary, daily life. Before another departure, they make promises, and the speaker calls it joy to say words they will hold to. The final image of petals refusing to drop, 'time or not,' turns something fragile into something stubborn and alive. It is not a grand declaration; it is quiet, almost whispered. The mood is tender, a little melancholy around the edges, but finally hopeful: time and separation return, but this connection does not wither.
Returning in January — Summary
And two years gone yet you remember me!
We both sense the love who never “met.”
Promises are made before new leaving
And saying words we will hold to is joy
These petals will not drop, time or not.