…and the lingering ashes of hope

On the threshold
of dreams
deep in the mirror
I see you again
it is always
in the dark places
and the fragile moments
that you haunt the space
between my tears
and the lingering ashes
of hope

you are not gone
yet you are also not here
I sweep the truth
beneath the dust
and write with ink
distilled from longing
the things unsaid
the things once promised
the words bleeding
into the pages
like wounds
that never heal

I find your voice
in yesterday
hidden in a letter
I never sent
it still carries
the salty notes of the sea
slowly I unfold it
my fingers frayed
from the effort
of holding on to our ghosts
those stolen moments
that now only
belong to me

I regret
and I do not regret
our secrets still tightly held
a twilight pact
a whispered promise
now nightly I descend
into that dusky
hidden place
where once again
you take my hand
we walk together in silence
for no words are needed

and when the dawn
reclaims the night
you slip beyond the tide
love ever lingers here
where we drift between
the now and then
and when I awaken
the scent of you
still lingers
upon my skin
© Ann Bagnall