…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