Bygone

A Poem by Alyaffa London

Grieving by a tree

On a pavement with walls low-lying and lined with trees by the dozen, I sit in silence, pondering on what was and what is, a dull reminiscence under a bright blue. The gentle sway of summer breeze in summer leaves is a daunting reminder of a bygone heaven on earth: the Eden that can no longer be.

I trace the broken pattern of wood beside me. I know not the name of my tall friend, but I hear a voice in the rustling of her leaves, a whimper out into the field. One by one leaves fall past my shoulders, a gradual fall of amber like a silent drop of tears. As I press my cheek to her bark, an obscure spirit seeps from root to vein. And as the hours pass, her shadows cover pavements and more, an agonizing shadow I didn’t recognize before.