The forest is large, the forest is dark
And yet, I walk on.

The path is hard, the path is long
And still, I walk on.

I can't see ahead for all the fog
But I will always walk on,

Because you wait at the end of the road
And I am walking home to you.

The light yet constant rain
Erases all traces
Of yesterday's midsummer heat.
My floral skirt billows
Filled with icy wind
As I cross the bridge with my umbrella.

Today is January 1st
And winter is five months away,
But you wouldn't know it from my frozen fingers
That grip the umbrella handle
And try to steer it with the wind.

My other fingers are fumbling a grocery list
Deep in the pocket of my thick coat.
And I look out over the grey city
To the misty ships and steely ocean.
The rain has washed away the horzion
And I cannot tell the sky from the sea.

Today is January 1st
And instead of endless possibilities
I can only see a myriad
Of miserable days like today.

There is a sea in me

It roils and boils
And churns and swallows
And breaks on the jagged teeth
Of the coastline

It crashes and comes
With a force untold
And lays waste to the dry land

Sometimes it calms to a hush
Only to rush my lungs with brine

There is an anxious sea in me

There is no hollow part of me
That needs to be filled
With ***** and excess

Though I wish that there was
Because maybe then I wouldn't feel
Like a broken kite stuck in a tree

Or a girl who peered over the edge
And slipped and fell
Into the dark depths of the well

Because I slipped and fell
Into the darkest depths of the well

I slipped
And I fell
And I can never escape this hell

On still autumn nights
When only I walk the earth
You remind me of hope

I study your face every chance I get
Count the lines on your forehead
Memorise the curve of your lip

I take mental polaroids
To pin up around my mirror
So I can keep every angle
And every expression
Just in case

Just in case you go
Or somehow I forget you

Just in case I can't remember
How alive you look in this very moment
Or the rich chocolate of your eyes
In case I forget the stubble on your cheek
Or the inhibitions of that wide smile

I could take a thousand pictures
I could write a million poems
But I can never quite capture
The life I see in you

I press my lips to the memory
Of your soft mouth pressed against mine
Your strong arms 'round my waist
Pulling me closer
So I can drown in your heady perfume

Tonight my bed is cold
Tonight you are far away from me
But I can almost feel your smooth skin
Tantalising beneath my fingertips
I remember your rough chin
Grazing against mine

And all those pretty somethings
That you whispered in my ear
Tonight, they appear in pixels
Only tangible in cyberspace

But your ghost is still here, love
It spreads like butterflies through my chest
And though we say goodnight
Without kisses, without my arms 'round your neck
Those brown eyes still stoke the fire
And tomorrow will bring the flames
As my blazing heart welcomes you home again