Come with me—
don’t sleep, please stay.
For now, don’t fade into absence;
let this second count the way I pray.
Fill the silence—please,
help me stay.
Make a noise:
even a single chime of wind
would let my heart sway.
Don’t go yet,
like colours draining from a bouquet.
It’s dry and wounded,
but surely it can stay—right?
They stole you,
sold you to the heavens,
yet in my realm
you must remain.
You will stay—
though my soul shatters
each time I face that ruthless truth.
I can’t bear to watch the day
when I can’t fill the empty space
where once you lay.
My home stands in horror:
your breath no longer collides with my air.
My garden lost its flowers;
sunshine refuses to appear
the moment you were snatched
into the nimbus glare.
Along these aisles of fading souls
I hoped to walk beside you—
but you left before me.
I wish you stayed.
I wish you stayed.
I wish you still stayed
—here—with me.