…drifting in on gentle winds

Image: Cherry Blossom on Water 2: Painting By Julia Chu

You are etched
within my heart
your memory woven
through the pages
of my life

the last time that I saw you
the quiet melancholy
of a stormy day
the aching beauty of the sea
and twisting driftwood

the clamour of birdsong
in the rose of morning
cherry blossoms weeping
under a familiar moon

then suddenly
with no warning
these things assail me
their sighs and murmurs
spilling over

like silken cascades
running through my life
painted in colours
that only I can see

I stand alone
with no shape
no form
old ghosts
old wounds
drifting in
on gentle winds

the tapestry of time
trailing across
a clear blue sky
this floating world
of wine and kisses

your hand in mine
all I see is you
only my love remains
only the ground beneath

yet this time
I feel you near
and somehow, I sense
that in this moment
I am merely
a heartbeat short
of eternity

© Ann Bagnall

** A poem from my book ‘I Dance with the Ghost That Haunts Me’ published on Amazon**