…won’t leave me

My memories
once precious
and bright
that I thought
I could never forget
are now just echoes
from the darkness
and here, here
in this desolate place
in this imagined place
the picture is distorted
now a dark illusion
buried soul deep

there is a deep sense
of isolation
yet somehow I feel
it is a sacred place
a place where secrets
were once shared
the echoes
bring me a voice
that softly whispers
of all the things
that I have ever lost

and then there comes
a deep silence
a silence
without a centre
a silence
without an end
a single
cherry blossom
slowly drifting down
in quiet perfection
the scent
of wild flowers
framing
the spring stream
beyond the cliffs
a wild sea

between
the light and the shadows
between
the earth and the sky
a breeze brushes
against my skin
the dream of you
won’t leave me
and the garden
calls me still
© Ann Bagnall