You pose for your portrait
Among the flowerbeds and I am
Transported back a quarter of
A century, stumbling in heavy
Boots as I hurry out of
Your way.

None of it makes sense:
Disillusionment failed to
Disillusion my memories –
At least, the ones that matter –
And so a fondness lives on
In the cracks in the floor
Of my heart, a longing for
The unknown (even though
I know enough), a desire to
Relight the fires of hell I am
Glad were extinguished.

She seemed to arrive with
Spring, and so have you, though
My growth is no longer new,
My blooming has seen
A higher Sun, a longer day.

Of course, our paths crossed
Again, just as they would have
Done back then, but this time
You saw what was in my eyes,
And I wonder if you knew
What it meant.

05/08/2024

Posted on 06/09/2024
Copyright © 2024 Richard Vince