A Photo, Faded
Close ...
So close, you were skin to my flesh,
Marrow to my bones ...
Suffusing my being and breath
As the elements that course through my veins.
Once, you whispered me ... tender,
That the only time you adored your own reflection
Was when you saw it ... in my eyes,
For then ... then, you were close enough ...
To me. With me. For me.
We spoke often of our intimacy ...
So near, so deep, so much as ONE,
That we almost felt alone ...
An individual spirit, solitary ...
When we met at THAT place, merged in passion ...
A sensual singularity, exquisite,
Close as souls can or could or will ever be ...
Colors blended ... threads woven, enmeshed ...
A delicate tapestry of visceral emotion and desire.
Now ... I see your picture ... there ...
Your life and circumstance, (and love), as it is now ...
And your eyes - those amazing eyes - hold not a glint of what was ...
Thirty-five years, and you have purged me, complete.
I stare as deeply as I know, and see - in horrid grief and longing ...
A stranger.
~ 2nd Place ~ in the "Free Verse: Winter Blues" Poetry Contest, Laura Loo, Judge & Sponsor.
~ Honorable Mention ~ in the "Brian's Choice E, Any Form, Any Theme" Poetry Contest, Brian Strand, Judge & Sponsor.
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