Night is falling upon me
where my own personal tragedies play out over and over
like the flickering candle, I feel the gentle caress of the wind
and again my ghosts are coming back to life
they don’t return as apparitions in white
no chains to rattle, no mournful songs
they quietly circle me in my dreams
replaying my memories in exquisitely painful ways
reminding me of the sweet scent of summer rains
of your smile, your laughter
I try to look away, to avoid the next unguarded moment
but there is something magical in the moonlight
that takes me back to what my heart insists is over
where longing once found a home in me
and after all this time it has never left
in the quiet between heartbeats
they circle like moths around a flame that refuses extinction
they come to remind me that once there was a window
that opened onto the aching seas of midnight
where we used to lie together counting stars
as if they were ours to keep
as I listen to their breathing, I strive to remember
the feeling deep inside of me, that never really died
and in the silence and the darkness
an intimate resurrection is beginning in my soul
©Ann Bagnall
Annie's Poetry 