In a secret chamber of my heart
Where my thoughts seldom dare to intrude,
I unveiled pieces of yesterday
Amidst the imposing solitude

Sorting through the broken shards of  love,
My teardrops disturbed the dust of Time;
His loving lies and deceitful words
Still moved me with their seductive rhyme!

Each fragment was moistened by my tears
As broken strains of our symphony
Carelessly strewed their bittersweet notes,
Summoning the past so tenderly

What sad but sweet memories were aroused
As my thoughts hearkened back to the day
Two hearts, in the winter of their lives,
Went searching for the last buds of May

What rare flowers might have bloomed for us!
Our story ended so incomplete;
Like thirsty bees that return to the bloom,
How those love-filled days begged a repeat

O, why did I rouse those sleeping ghosts .......
What master do lonely hearts obey?
Better these tears flood my tortured heart,
Drowning those pieces of yesterday!

If I were that forceful gust of wind
That lifts feathers on the robin's breast,
High above the clouds I'd carry you,
To where Heaven flaunts its sacred crest ---
Far beyond Earth's perils and torments,
Where no angels glimpse a mortal guest

O, to be a swelling ocean wave!
I would sweep the shore, drinking you in,
Dragging you down to my very core,
Showing you places you've never been;
Sheltered we would be from peering eyes,
Lest they judge our love, calling it sin

But I'm just a woman who loves you,
No mystical powers do I command;
I can unburden your heart from pain,
Offering all the love that you demand;
And when the night exhales its cold breath,
There will be the warm clasp of my hand

Yes, I'm just a woman who loves you,
I can't transcend my humanity;
But I can illume your darkest hours,
Bringing you peace and serenity;
And if Divine mercy shall permit,
I'll walk with you through eternity

His footprints next to mine in the snow,
The wildflowers he picked for my hair;
The kiss we shared 'neath the moon's pale glow ....
That kiss that left me gasping for air

Those evening strolls down paths thick with fog,
The first time he whispered "I love you,"
A night bird perched on a fallen log,
The lone witness to our rendezvous

Nights when Heaven's gilded gates would part
To reveal a glimpse of Paradise;
His heart pressed firmly against my heart,
Seeing my reflection in his eyes

So confusing are these memories
That consume my every waking hour,
With such precision they taunt and tease,
As if commandeered by some dark power

Is it just my mind playing a cruel game --
Does loneliness prompt this strange duet?
Recalling a lover with no name ....
Haunted by a man I never met

No longer will sadness set the tone,
Despair won't define my waking hours;
Never will the sun hear me bemoan
Lonely tears that cascade like Spring showers

To solitude's woes I'll not be bound
As long as the sun saunters the sky;
Like vile weeds I'll pluck them from the ground,
Laughing as their flowerheads droop and die

Love's silent voice will be disavowed
Since it will not speak the words I crave;
In defeat my head will not be bowed,
To Love I'll not be a faithful slave

I'll mimic the music box dancer,
Twirling 'round and 'round in silent glee,
While secretly begging the answer
To why Love withholds its melody

All throughout the day I'll wear a smile,
Every tortured longing will take wing;
I'll defy Fate's decree all the while,
But when night falls ..... well,  that's another thing!

The pillow I sleep upon each night
Seems to be in a state of distress,
All because the pillow next to mine
Yearns for the head it used to caress

Each dawn my pillow is wet with tears,
A mystery I'm loath to explain;
Imagine, a pillow shedding tears.......
Clearly, from the realm of the arcane!

But I've heard whispers deep in the night,
When the pillows believe I'm asleep;
Softly I hear them call out his name,
And after a while they start to weep

Then morning comes with a tarnished joy,
Rising with the sun are pangs of woe;
This dampness on my cheek just confirms
My fears that the pillows miss him so

How am I to comfort their sorrows,
When my own despair I cannot numb?
Yet, the pillows must be told the truth --
But when I speak, all the wrong words come

I tell the pillows there'll come a time
Their feathers will caress someone new;
Although my heart scoffs at such a lie,
I must tell it ....... or I might cry too

Seeking to escape harsh reality,
I pretended to be a vine,
Climbing and clinging to a strong oak,
My eager tendrils did entwine;
With gladdened heart each morn I awoke,
Free of cares and woes, and life was fine

'Round and 'round I twisted, embracing him --
To reach Heaven's light was my goal;
Steadfast and oh, so strong was my oak,
He calmed the unrest in my soul;
Proudly I became his leafy cloak,
But overconfidence took its toll

My sheltering oak had grown tired of me,
He released me and down I fell;
It was then I yearned to be a rose
Of great beauty and fragrant smell;
Why this vain choice?  Only Heaven knows!
What folly, but how was I to tell?

Along came the bees, then the butterflies,
And soon they drank my nectar dry,
Slowly I withered, then my head drooped,
The ingrates left me there to die;
O, to what wickedness they had stooped!
With lowered head, a worm I did spy

Calmly he laid upon the Earth's *****,
Then burrowed deep into the ground,
It opened its arms and welcomed him,
And therein he dwelt, safe and sound;
Being covered by soil seemed so grim,
Yet worth the contentment he had found

"That's it!" I cried, "I want to be a worm,
Hiding deep in my earthen lair,
Where soon I'll forget life's cruelty
And the torments that drove me there!"
And no one will come to look for me,
They might know I'm gone . .  but they won't care

Toward that mystic land of fond memories
I wandered alone at end of day;
Climbing well-known hills with sure-footed ease,
Down familiar paths I made my way

Through a schoolyard gate how quickly I ran
To greet dear friends that had blessed my youth;
To reclaim those happy hours was my plan,
But instead, I faced a bitter truth

As I glanced around me with childhood's eyes
I saw laughing faces everywhere,
I smiled and waved, only to realize
Of my presence they were unaware

Once again my thoughts carried me away
To where my sweet love and I once strolled,
Somewhere is that strange Land of Yesterday,
But his image refused to unfold

There alone I stood pondering my plight --
Where was the bright sunshine of my past?
Now, tightly bound by the dark threads of night,
Life had left me, helpless and downcast

I knew then the past must be laid to rest,
But what agony to my heart came!
How do I douse this fire within my breast?
O, winds of Time, please blow out the flame!

Truth has inflicted an egregious wound:
No more can I walk Yesterday's shore;
The roiling seas of life left me marooned,
Exiled to the Land of Nevermore