Close to Her

 

 

What is this essence, silent, but more powerful than a hundred ballads?

 

Poured together, braided water, streaming from a Greek pitcher,

a drink in your words, reassuring, delineated by caresses,

liquid steeped with pristine fragrances of spring.

 

Out of everyone there, I doubted you would look my way

We laughed as the hours orbited, bringing us closer,

the lavender scent of your silken hair solaced me

like the whisper of evenfall's cascade.

 

Maybe we knew each other, in a country forgotten?

 

That year, during December nights, we sat on steps downtown;

beside me, you wearing that jacket, effortlessly understanding the night;

reflections, swimming city lights, rays, and glimmering sounds.

 

The currents recede, then returning before dawn,

forever shaping a remembrance ...

 

When I was close to her, we shared a union of breathing

Eyes shut, hands joined, surfaces speaking to each other

Her lips, the hills, satin dunes, and freshening valleys,

Emanating mists, from which the power of art rises

Releasing melodies to enter the rains.

 

There was a time, so close to her, just walking down the street,

each verse she flourished was a jewel manifested

Alone, she came closer, the truth of the moonlight in her eyes

Indigo night, alluvion of cosmos silvering her skin

 

Sleeping together, submerging, evanescing all tomorrows

 

The last day was a cold, foggy, morning, so lucid

You were dressed in your best clothes, scarf, perfume

You had to return to your country, to finish your studies

Life's burdened repertoire of tasks pulling us away

 

Nevertheless, waiting at the terminal, we held on

within a silent voice cried out ... then we receded

Before she boarded she turned - this is etched in memory -

Through tears she gifted me a final smile

Eyes revealed more than any gesture or word ...

This love is real ...

 

Waving farewell through the window, the bus droned away

transporting her to the nexus, to a plane, across the pacific

 

The currents recede, then returning before dawn,

forever shaping remembrances

 

Years, and years ...

I never saw her again

Our thoughts have often found each other, I'm sure

Unanchored contemplations, meandering,

wishes carried on the wings of crying doves

 

Now, bearing my wounds, burdens, and blurred visions of the future,

I return to the aching river which churns through the heart of the city,

so that I can perfect my art, here, where the morning mists gather

Sitting on the banks I realize how fleeting our story was,

how I only began to fathom its nature near the end,

more beautiful than anything solitude could envision

 

By the swishing waters I sketch and write unfailingly,

and my drawings, and the endless pages of my notebook,

one by one, flutter away, ... sakura blossoms in a gust,

dancing amid boughs, and across walkways,

falling on waters, which never return.

 

By this intangible source, I come to remember

I know in some way I will always be close to her

Her smile, dappled by sunlight through leaves,

I search for her voice's stirring echoes,

the waters lapping the shores ...

petals in the wind

Author's Note

This was written very recently, so it'll probably get modified slightly over time

Reviews

[Sami Khalil]

Long but good ...Thank you for sharing...:)................

[Kuandio]

Thanks for reading. Reading it now I see this poem was definitely prematurely posted. It's too long for my liking, needs to be trimmed down closer to its core

[Sami Khalil]

OK. You are welcome...:)..............