…of my heart

There
where violets
exhale their perfumed breath
to the wind
and roses
with their blushing, velvet faces
ever fade too early
footsteps fall
and for one brief moment
I forget
that I have been
so long without you

there
where my heart is still warm
and my soul is on fire
where from all directions
the winds, bring petals of cherry
and carry with them
the fragile creature
of hope

there
I find myself
gently recalling those long years
when you were the songs
the hymns of my heart
before
with your hand on my cheek
you sighed and spoke
of the time
when we must both
be like the distant shores
in the fog and the wind
hidden
behind veils upon veils

there
with the ghosts of years
far past
history runs through me
like the hopeless tides
that weather away stone
© Ann Bagnall
2013