…in the depths of my soul

In the silence of this place
I discover an echo in the depths of my soul
rushing in like the tide, unfurling, into the ethers of time
you always loved the stars
and laughed about how they will eventually forget us
we stood here hand in hand
where the scent of roses and promises of forever
hung heavy in the night
here, everything remembers
even the shadows of the leaves seem to know your name
the wind blows in on silent wings, touched with the scent of loss
cold rain and salt-split wood
and the shiver of unfulfilled dreams
all that I have lost, rebrands me
I am not a child, not a lover, not even a survivor
but merely an empty vessel that grief has rendered hollow
I always thought that the echo was yours
my long-lost love, my anchor, now adrift
but in time I realised, it is mine
the echo is me, newly born
a tide-drawn psalm
a hymn to everything I could never hold
the echoes mark where you once were
they keep you in my soul
and I sit in this quiet hush ever grateful for the tides
and ever grateful for the winds that carry you back to me
© Ann Bagnall