….I am silent and invisible

In my ebony shrouds of solitude
I am silent and invisible to the things I left behind
reflectionless and empty
nocturnal and out of sight, I remain unseen
as a raven in the night
I quietly observe from a distance
darkness holds me close
solitude is a pendulum wildly swinging
up and down and up again
time slips away night becomes day
where my solitude changes colour
drenched in white I flinch from the light
it plunders my shadows with its quicksilver
its treachery renders me bare and my soul retreats
searching for the whispers of silence
a gentle breeze caresses my skin
I feel my shrouds pulling me within
waves of solitude swallow me whole
the pendulum is still swinging
up and down and up again
and now the bell tolls
© Ann Bagnall