…and like clockwork they unwind me

Here in the slow drifting night, each quiet hour turns anew
your dark eyes meet mine and like clockwork they unwind me
where I see my own eyes reflected in the shifting oceans of yours
ever so softly in the silence, gently stoking the flames of desire
I know it is drowning time, for I live in the shadows of my delusions
that constantly wind my heart with their silver keys
but as always, the clock is never chiming for me
immeasurable darkness is circling me, impossible to run from
the moonless depths of my longing, an endless reel of illusions
in a varied cadence of pleasure and pain, an inexplicable dichotomy
I have cried rivers of tears to no avail, living inside yesterday’s lies
love has been a burden that I have refused to surrender
still burning, a martyr to desire, I stare at myself in the mirror
the marks upon my skin still fading, unlike the marks on my soul
and unlike the melancholy songs of my broken heart
for my heart knows all the truths and all the lies
and chastises my soul for singing
all the melodies that you once sung
I feel a storm brewing in the indigo
and I find myself longing for the wind
and longing for the waves to carry the last remnants of you away
far away from me, for I have been too long here in the darkness
I have become a night flower, aching to return to the light
©Ann Bagnall