…beyond the cool reflection

In the quiet hours
as the day sleeps and the world sighs
penitent thoughts return to me
I am alone again with the moon
and drowning in my sorrow
walking down familiar pathways in my dreams
where I see only one set of footprints
yet I still hear you breathing
and I feel you near in the piercing dark
I hear quiet whispers, but the words
they fall away, into the endless silence
I feel a gentle touch upon my skin
like a breeze raised by a butterfly’s wing
and here, beneath the mirror’s face
I am lost in the wishing glass
where you are just a soft shadow
of all my many regrets
in my intangible dreams
the vision ripples, as formless as the future
your eyes are as deep as wells
and then you vanish, into the silence
just like a desert mirage
once more, leaving me all alone
beyond the cool reflection
yet my heart still keeps on seeking
my hands on the frame
unseeing
© Ann Bagnall