haikus for ursula (1737)

I.
I bet you had hands
not unlike my grandmother's -
skin, holding secrets.

II.
and we are connected
three hundred years in the past.
by passion, not blood.

III.
would I have loved you
as John did, courting your kiss
until you gave in.

IV.
what if I failed you
as others surely failed you -
changing space and time.

V.
do you remember
nights sitting by lake Zurich,
toes dipped in water?

VI.
what is a past life
but a peek at the truth
that both of us know