Here in the Dust
The light is slowly fading
dissolving like dust
into the rising ocean
of evening
darkness descends
and a weeping wind sings
as solitude surrounds me
now drenched in midnight
I am a ghost
an apparition
silent and ever alone
formless fingers
brush my alabaster skin
cold as the ancient stone
laid long ago
beneath my feet
here in the dust
and the shadows
and the fallen leaves
I have stood for centuries
that have passed like petals
down the river of time
dreamlike and fragrant
the passage of time and I
are the only constancy here
destined to repeat
each day and each night
as silent observers
of transformation
and decay
cursed by immortality
these stony eyes
have witnessed much
the cycles of life and death
torment me
in my solitude
a prisoner in this place
freedom
is just a word
yet I suffer this with grace
the crow
is my sentinel
the keeper of my secrets
his glossy eyes
see all that I see
standing silent
and unmoving here
each morn he cries
into the dawn
his song a lament
for my plight
that fades
upon the black winds
raised
by his silken wings
as he circles
in silent flight
© Ann Bagnall
