…and the shadows

The light is slowly fading
dissolving like dust into the rising ocean of evening
darkness descends and a weeping wind sings
as solitude surrounds me
now drenched in midnight
I am a ghost, an apparition, silent and ever alone
formless fingers brush my alabaster skin
cold as the ancient stone
laid long ago beneath my feet
here in the dust and the shadows and the fallen leaves
I have stood for centuries
that have passed like petals down the river of time
dreamlike and fragrant the passage of time and I
are the only constancy here
destined to repeat each day and each night
as silent observers of transformation and decay
cursed by immortality
these stony eyes have witnessed much
the cycles of life and death torment me in my solitude
a prisoner in this place, freedom is just a word
yet I suffer this with grace
the crow is my sentinel ,the keeper of my secrets
his glossy eyes see all that I see
standing silent and unmoving here
each morn he cries into the dawn, his song a lament for my plight
that fades upon the black winds raised by his silken wings
as he circles in silent flight
© Ann Bagnall