Dark Wings
…are beating unseen
The first light has faded away
before it ever caressed the day
the fields of darkness
littered with countless stars
all striving in vain
their luminescence to retain
longing to linger in the darkness
and aching to swim in the sad winds
but this night is unforgiving
holding dominion over all
casting oceans of shadows
across this desolate place
dark wings are beating unseen
and warm waves of sorrow
rise in their wake
carrying all the things
I thought I had left behind
the things that I buried
that I had thought
no-one could ever find
all now falling upon me
like rain
I am drenched
and drowning
in the memories
in the pain
the things I never thought
would be haunting me again
for we had our seasons
our spring was warm
and filled with fragrance
as flowers bloomed
and flourished
the heat of summer
was overwhelming
and our flames
almost burned us to ashes
then autumn’s first cold winds
signalled a change
our colours briefly brighter
but we were falling
with the leaves
the harshness of winter
was unexpected
and the ice crept in
on a stealthy breeze
circling us like prey
we succumbed
as the night does to the day
and yet here I am
once more
like this night
defying the new day
clinging to darkness
where truths and lies
are indistinguishable
where reality
is what I choose to believe
where the moon
is only seen by me
where the stars
still swim in their galaxies
and where all I ever lost
is drifting slowly
back to me
© Ann Bagnall
