Broken

Damaged
a marriage of many years
now, shadows of what once was
lingering lint that clings
this is what the future brings

Longing
for what once was
like a lapping wave, reaching
for the shore it can’t grasp
hope keeps it trying

Sadness
filling days with regret
a bitter taste that lingers
in a dog that ate
what it should not have tasted

Alone
too many days and nights in silence
a single grain of sand clings
holding on to a warm body
washed off with tears of loneliness

Fault
lies with her for her choice
she looked away for one moment
becoming entranced by the serpent
hisssssing ssssssweet wordsssss

Smoke
and mirrors of illusion
an imminent fall at the end
of an unraveling ball of twine
a vapor that never solidifies

Now
the climb back up the hill
to a place of love and belonging
to reality, not a phantom misgiving
is slick as a glass cliff without hold

Questions
fill each day and night’s intimacies
gone missing, in a labyrinth to traverse
hope remaining in a dimly glowing candle
all she has left in a pinpoint of light

Consequences
not in her thoughts then
fan blades beating her soul
cutting and marring what was divine
now exists as soiled linens in a bin

Hoping
mending and darning of worn holes
weaving a new fabric to patch the old
into a stronger, tighter textile,
afraid one loose thread unravels

Time
the enemy of flesh and bone
eats away each hour with voracity
blinding its host with despair
of the unknown timeline left

Unknown
outcomes, a poor companion to regret
become intimately acquainted at a lover’s dance
the guests: fear, uncertainty, remorse, love, and even hope
sway to a song of requiem called Sorrow