…the meaning of hope

Again and again the kiss of rain
and the salty path of endless tears
my dearest love you feel as distant as the moon
here without you I have filled myself with emptiness
and veils of loneliness wrap themselves around me
finally I feel the passing of the dark depths of the night
and I wonder what is left now? shall only our ashes remain?
for it was a long time ago, yet I still lose myself
in the dark corners of you
songs of sorrow dance like pain and memories cling to yesterday
still singing their melodies to the night like slow flowing river
spilling over from a deep well of shadows
a quiet softness, a beautiful dark silence almost too lovely to bear
until this moment it had no meaning
but in this cold night that is over full with you
I have let it mean something and now emptiness fills my heart
in the mirror’s depths, love becomes a fleeting shape
a dream of itself, reaching to extinguish the light
but in the dawn of the new day, through the soft lace of the trees
the shy dappled shadows, are quietly dancing
with the blooming flowers
in soft shafts of sunlight and I stand in silence
in a sudden moment of peace as nature’s beauty
comforts me from its distant canopy
its warmth not quite reaching me, not yet
but I hear your whispers calling to me
and I know that I have now learned
the meaning of hope
© Ann Bagnall