Day of Night

There's something in the air today.

It's not fun, it's not light, not filled with the giggling of children and rustling of costumes that characterised the second last night. It isn't lit by the glow of paper lanterns and burning pumpkins, or sweetened by wafting scent of candy. It simply sits, floating, slithering, spreading, weaving between gathered families and solitary figures and idle passersby alike.

It makes me remember. Remember warm days and passionate nights, bright mornings and soft smiles. Remember hopes, dreams, possibilities.

"...never thought I'd be this happy..."
    "...will you marry me?..."
         "...think I've finally found my place..."
              "...I love you..."
                   "...don't ever let anything change us, please..."
                        "...forever."

And, just for a second, it makes me forget. Just for a second it wipes from my mind the memories of cold hospital waiting rooms and empty reassurances. It banishes, however temporarily, the ever-present phantom stench of sterile beds, and silences the never-ending echo of a flatlining monitor.

"...there's been an accident..."
    "...you can't go into the surgery room..."
         "...it's a difficult procedure..."
              "...we've established stability, but only just..."
                   "...they're doing all they can, please..."
                        "...I'm sorry."

It teases the border between an itch in the mind and a physical heaviness on the wind. It flits like an insect, making itself known with a flutter of wings only to vanish before its presence can truly be determined. And it tells a tale, of life and loss, of things not yet gone but not entirely there. For as long as I stand amid the cooling breeze and it's hidden berth I can never really feel it clearly, and I never will.

There's something in the air today. It's a cloud of memories, sad, happy, of regret, of promise. But it's not quite thin enough to drift into my heart, and it's never thick enough to carry me away.

Author's Note

Written on an overnight plane ride on my Ipod. Apologies for typos.

Idea from a November/December holiday contest. I chose All Souls' Day, November 2nd, which celebrates those who have died but still remain on Earth (following All Hallows' Evening on October 31st and All Saints' Day on November 1st).

Reviews

[LadyKarissa]

Yes I celebrate All Saint's Day and All Soul's Day as I am a Christian Catholic. I don't do Halloween anymore as I am grown up. Very good poem. Keep penning.