…we surrendered to time

I whisper to you, not with just with words
but also, with silence, for in the silence
I hear the quiet hymns of the slow shifting tides
and I feel the gentle pull of the unseen gravity
of a love, vast enough to cross oceans
yet also, fragile enough to break us both
I stand here alone again, before another endless night
as one stands anxious before an indisputable truth
unable to look away, unable to hide the pain
and in the moment it strips me completely bare
every thought, every feeling,every wound
every tenderness and every betrayal
exposed by the veils of the moon
and yet I do not turn away
for what is love, if not surrender?
and what is surrender, if not luminous pain
somehow made beautiful?
again, last night I had a dream, you walking beside me
our quiet steps leaving footprints in the sand
the warmth of your hand in mine
and in the moonlight we surrendered to time
the clocks stopped but time was still moving in slow, slow, motion
I no longer felt my body, I was drifting weightless
but not entirely empty, a shadow, searching for light
until a half-formed prayer settled upon my lips
and for mere seconds the world stopped
I felt myself melting beneath your gaze
eyes into eyes, truth defeats lies
in matters of the heart love cannot be denied
© Ann Bagnall