Fading

Though the weight of the world left you unfazed,
Weight held a burden you couldn’t bear.

Though your flesh left you willingly,
I guess your bones were too heavy to carry.

Heaviness upon heart and head
Stuck between the ever-crushing vice of life
Trapped behind the eyes of a body you felt…was never yours.

Both sides of the pendulum you are.
Innocence amid reality;
A sea breeze in winter;
The sun in the Sahara.

All taint of malice and
Purity of tenderness;
A punctured lip in moonlight.
You are the moral in every story.

I fear you never understood the depths of yourself,
Or perhaps you never held the layers poetry paints.

Every shattered piece of my soul sought to save you,
But your ‘love’ only ever bore me doubt.

Your weight may never again grace the earth,
But it will always weigh down on my mind.

Even in my mind…

…you are fading.

Just A Kiss

Being unable to kiss the one you love;
It is like breathing without oxygen.

I suffocate on the emptiness;
What was once mine no longer is.

Not from thief’s hand stolen;
Nor death’s hand taken.

It is there,
Yet it is lost.

I am that of a boat without sea;
Of a sail without wind.

I am left a martyr of none;
A priest that has sinned.

I am the earth that is cracked;
The tide that dies on the sand.

I am the end of the act;
The silhouette on no man’s land.

But on love’s return;
In turn come her lips.

Far sweeter than a rose,
Or the honey the bee sips.

I am defenceless; unguarded;
A tortoise without a shell.

She ascends me up to Heaven,
And drags my soul from Hell.

My heart is rendered weak,
Falling deeper than a well.

Whether her lips with be mine again?

Only time will tell…

Setting Sun

She sat at the bench.

Like she had done many times before.

Though yesterday’s rain left a lingering damp smell in the air, the setting sun danced it’s rays upon the oceans tide that lay just a few metres from her feet. The ambient birdsong that had filled the air slowly diminished as the tentative mothers nestled their weary chicks to sleep.

Gripping the edges of the bench, she stared at her feet submerged in thought.

The tears that glazed her eyes feared discovery as they clung to the slippery surface that created them. At the mercy of the guillotine, just one bat of her eyelashes stood as judge, jury and executioner.

Little did they know, if these droplets of emotion were to fall, they would have landed on soft cheeks of carefully applied foundation and blusher. She had deemed such care suitable on such an occasion but, her lack of alluring lipstick stood alone as testament that her virtue remained intact.

Interrupting her sorrowful reminiscence again, she cast her eyes upon the scratched watch that cradled her almost bone-thin wrists. Nervousness set in as the hour hand hovered above six accompanied by its minute hand underling.

Observing the fancy pink blouse she wore under her navy blue cotton jumper, she noticed its slight transparency. Uncomfortable with such a reality, she decided that instant that she would hide the blouse under her jumper for the evening. Alongside her dark blue jeans, she knew that suspicion would be her least concern that night.

Seeing a man approach from the distance, she began to pat down her straightened hair and dust off her coat.

Hearing the man call a kindly, “Hello”, she greeted him with a brief embrace and kiss on the cheek.

“Are you ready?” He asked with a gentle voice.

“Yes. Just give me a moment. I’ll catch up to you.” She replied.

“No rush. Just take your time.” He said as he nodded.

She responded with a small painful smile.

Glancing back to the bench, she hesitantly laid her eyes upon the gold memorial plaque; newly glistening in the final rays of the setting sun.

In Loving Memory of…

Even in her head she could not continue reading.

The guillotine finally dropped, releasing a single tear.

After a moment of silence, she carefully wiped her face.

Kissing her hand, she placed it upon the plaque.

She then turned around, looked up and walked steadily towards the man as he waited holding his hand out…longing for hers.

There She Was

There She was; just standing there.

She and I had always lingered there. From when the sun set until it rose once more, we could see it all from our mountaintop peak. Here, between the endless depths and the unreachable skies, we shared our first kiss; in euphoria.

The air so thin it would – as the wind passed – carry your worries and fears away; as if lifting the burdens of life directly from our minds with each stroke of that gentle breeze. This snow-powdered peak; where footprints of other lovers with hearts like us sat. Where such lovers would come to share their affections and their first kisses. But, there was no love like our love. Shutting out the world each time our eyes met. Each embrace, a last goodbye…There was no love like our love.

By far the highest mountain close to our hometown, we would come here through the bramble-filled forests. Though the path was long and treacherous, it was always worth the bruises, the cuts to our legs and arms and the tears in our clothing if not to share but a moment with her there. Nothing ever hindered us as we journeyed to our mountaintop.

She would always wear the most beautiful countenance when she looked at me, with eyes that peered into my very soul. A most heart-stopping brightness of aqua blue, her eyes held the perfect balance of compassion and fire that, rather than battle one another, swirled in synchronous harmony.

Keeping me ever at arm’s reach, she was forever dressed in her limitless collection of frilly dresses that were limited only by the colours of snow white and pink lace. I never forgot; how, rather than the dress imbuing her with radiant beauty, she would magically enliven any drapery that enclosed her pale skin.

The embodiment of a human Nephilim, her subtle blonde hair would lay so softly upon her shoulders as though, it too, was in awe of her delicacy like I. Her lips, – the sweetest splendour I have ever have the honour to taste – it is her lips that grant roses their crimson apparel. It is her lips that released shaped breaths that held the structure of three words. The only three words that have ever held any truth in this world.

It was on a day, like any other, that I journeyed to our mountaintop alone. Cutting limb, cloth and face in my rush through that impeding mass of bramble and tree. Never had I been as fleet of foot that day as I was then, nor shall I ever be again. Receiving a cut above my left eye, I remember the blood submerging my vision in red; painting the snow in a light I had never thought to see. No matter, pain nor dismemberment nor death would stop me on that day.

Blood-covered by the time I reached our mountaintop, I underestimated how deep my wounds were, as I limped weak and feeble. It was in this fleshy shell that I was forced to watch my darling stand with shaking feet upon the edge of the peak. My breath had left me and my nose was clogged with stray tears. Though few human words left my lips that day, inside, my entire being screamed, cried, shouted and crumbled. Life as I knew it and loved it was coming to an end.

As her feet leant to and fro unbalanced, she hesitantly looked back at me, with a tears streaming from her eyes; though no sound did she make. Her eyes, – ever the brightest blue – were now drowning, unsated by what this world had to offer. Calling out my name to come to her, her hands trembled and reached out for mine…as she slipped.
Throwing out the breath I could, I bellowed an inaudible sound that shook the birds from the branches. A sound that was heard clearly by all that ever loved.

I, now hopeless, now drowning in my own tears and blood, crawled my way to that peak.
Looking down into that depths I saw her. In spite and with every ounce of anger that had ever existed within me, I cast my eyes to the heaven screaming with everything I had.

How the angels upon their cloud pedestals had simply watched as she fell…I couldn’t bear it.

Looking down upon my love again, no longer with tears, but with an untameable longing, I buried my nails into the snow as I lifted up my corpse to its feet. Taking one last look at the heavens, I returned my eyes then only to her, and into her…I fell.

No demon below would dare to take her from me, nor angel venture to catch me now.

Between worlds, upon the rocky shoal of the sea.

That is where you will find us.

In Death, as we were in Life.

Together, eternally.