…as the tides crave the moon
Together we flew too close to the sun
where the heat between us
melted my very soul
I felt it flowing towards you
anticipating the merging of our seas
our souls together for eternity
but instead our tides ebbed and flowed
with each cycle of the moon
finding only sand and stones
and rocky shores
ever blind to the distance between us
until finally, in a moment of clarity
I could see that you were too far away
for me to reach
that I had been left behind
like the tides leave broken shells
and stones dulled over time
like seaweed and driftwood
abandoned
to the will of the wind and sun
in desolation I found myself alone
my heart drifting in darkness
where knots of silence
replaced the tender whispers
and where flowers of love
once bloomed
now dark weeds wound
like vines around my heart
I was spiralling into sorrow
assailed by the echoes
of a melody once treasured
now feared in equal measure
for the shadows of memories it evoked
from which I could not avert my eyes
from which my heart could not hide
where for a time it felt like a dream
just a moment that would fade
in the awakening
but I knew deep in my soul
deep in the very blood
that courses through my veins
deep in my heart
that still beats for you in vain
that as the sea visits the shore
day after day
in unrelenting regularity
with no affection for anything
but the moon
I will hold these memories close
lest they should fade too soon
too soon for me
me, who is now amongst
the things left behind
still longing for you
with the same desire
as the tides crave the moon
© Ann Bagnall
