In a glance — the poet’s mind —
A reflection gazes back
From a frame
Its edges hidden under years of dust
A grim mouth
Tender eyes
A mind of wonder
A mind of answers
Who is this poet
Who claimed to speak sweet words?
To hold the visions of past and future
Immortalized within that silent recollection of an organism gone…
In a glance — the poet’s eyes —
Rage
Click, click, thump, click, thump, thump
This word is not new
This poem is a whisper of years ago
Originality is fake news.
How odd a feeling
To see you now,
After years
Of silence.
A screen door
Locked
Between our worlds
The earthquake of my heart
Has moved to my feet
We didn’t love
A brief brush of hands
Tender words
But you were my world!
Do you remember how fireflies ruled the nights?
We, two travelers, grasping at their guiding lights.
We couldn’t have known that they soon would go
The path that almost was
Is written on the pages
Of a hidden yellow book
Occasionally it opens
To keep it rosy
Your eyes find mine
Smile
She grabs your hand
There sits a picture
Upon a simple glass table
Between a pale chair
And open door
A boy smiles at me
Only two front teeth
Chocolate mouth
Onyx eyes
His innocence does not hide
Nor is it feigned
With time comes the tide
Of changes brought by a heart pained
— by eyes opened and sins made —
Knowledge brings despair
His hopes fade
Now that life is a nightmare
I tried to bring the sun to him
I tried to make him bright again
His star was dim
But I believed
The light would be found
Am I deceived?
Are nights still long?
Is hope still far?
Is death still near?
How you’ve grown is all a blur
Yet, still, I ache for the boy you were
When you left
The air was not yet crisp
Trees still wore crowns of green
And birds did still sing
Days were bright and endless
Nights were full of light
Consuming us in its glory
And untold stories
We loved
Yet danced around the words
Afraid of illusions
Afraid of reality
Now you’re gone
And the air burns
Trees are bare
And silence roars
Days are dim and quick
And nights cover loneliness
I loved
Yet never told
You, my soul
It’s better this way
– apart –
Two souls thrown together by chance
Kept divided by choice
I can’t keep you
You will never know
How I struggle
As I let you go
The gentleness of your eyes fades in the distance
I forget so much
Yet you stay
You consumed me
You owned me
– and for that –
We could never be
FJ Vera 