Under a blood red sky
A metaphor
A cliché
I cannot resist
Blood red it is
And so too
This life journey
Heart broken
Love rent
By the loss of one
Under a blood red sky
A metaphor
A cliché
I cannot resist
Blood red it is
And so too
This life journey
Heart broken
Love rent
By the loss of one
We make time across the Strait
The ferry carries me
From all that I’ve known
To I know not where
Yet
But that matters not
The where is not there
I’ve left there behind
Moved on
Forward?
Who knows
Not I
Just an hour gone
And I miss parts of it
Already
Like a child’s stuffed toy
Or her comfort blanket
The woman no longer needs
Nostalgia alone soothes adult vulnerability
A bit
I hope I’ve left
All such things
To the past
They have earned
Like tears
That have fallen
Already forgotten
But for the trails
Dried on my cheek
I wipe them away
Dawn comes softly
In pastels
With a light wind
I breathe in the moment
Then hold on
To what I don’t want to let go
This peace
This sanctuary
This moving on
A quiet
I have not allowed myself
To experience
In a long time
Time
In my body
Letting the world be
Just as it is
Beautiful
And dark
Tranquil
And distressed
But just for this moment
Beautiful
And tranquil
That is enough
For the dawn
Dawn breaks in pastels
Scattered city lights
Which had powered night
Fade with encroaching day
Soon enough extinguished
While the trail
Marking my departure
Rises from the darkness
Now a frothy white
Upon grey slate
Receding mountains’ majesty
Diminishes with steady progress
In some few hours to be lost
Behind the moon-swelled sea
Held fast by Earth’s own gravity
So go I
Beyond the realm
Of all I know
To places
I’ve not yet loved
We argue
Whether it is
The destination
Or the journey
That matters
But sometimes
We need only observe
The point of departure
As it recedes
Into the distance
I look back
In order to move forward
Bring the past
Into the present
Record the history
So I can release it
Carry the memory
Leave the emotional toil
Of glories and traumas
In the wake
Outbound and sunrise
Clichés of new beginnings
I remain unchanged
You walk away
With a crushing finality
Ramrod iron spine
Heels strident clacks
Carom across the concrete
Then at the door
The subtlest glance back
Betrays the display
That is your anger
Now I know
The only moment
More remarkable
Than this departure
Will be your return
I know also
The next time
There will be
No backward glance
But
God
Will I be grateful
For one last chance
I’m gone
And she stayed behind
Or I left her
I’m not sure
Which narrative
I like the least
I carry her still
A memory under glass
Shrouded and unrepentant
A story ended
Without end
And yet untold
But for the voice
In my heart
That won’t let her go