Illuminated in the mist
By streetlight glow,
Her whole enveloped
In halo,
His hand
Reaching through
And touching her
Mist damp cheek.
She rests into his palm
Then straightens
And stares outwards,
Eyes drawn to the edge
Of the lit canopy
Where light meets dark,
Where uncertainty awaits.
Closed eyes, memories dance,
Tears well and fall.
All that they were
Has ended here…
The culmination
Of a love lived
With cloaks and daggers,
Secret trysts and alibi lists
And, now, fatally lost.
One last kiss,
Him turning,
She, closed eyes,
Can bear no witness.
No words spoken,
Just silent gestures,
Only fading footsteps heard.
Deep breath,
One last look
As temptation strikes,
His shadow becoming one
With darkness.

She, left alone
Turns and walks away
Knowing that come sunrise
This umbrella of light,
This cold grave of dead affection,
Will be engulfed by the day
Rendering it invisible,
Taking their impression with it

Copyright Marc Hawkins 2017

A dead clock, a broken vase
And an old photo torn in pieces
Left untouched for how many decades
Like a desert never been rained

Memories of the thousand past
Gathered like piles of snow outside
So many but so distant
Like the fleeting star in the might

I stood, in the amidst of ruin
Envisaging the once burning ember
He cackling of the blazing fire
And the moving shadows on the wall

You sat there on the bergére
A malt beer on your hand
A Shakespearean book on your lap
And that heart-wrenching look on your aged face

I would like to hold you
But fear told me not
For if I did, I knew you'll disappear
Like a cigarette smoke in the thin air

Then the radio played the Cascades
A song you love so much like I did
And right there I started to hum
As the scene I was seeing blur ripple
A like a stone thrown on waters

The cacophony of the church bell rang
And to the old remnant of that house, I was back
It is snowing yet it doesn't feel cold
I'm not feeling cold

Series of soft footsteps echoed around
Along with muffled cries and quiet whispers
Once again, I saw you looking pale, looking older
And on your hands, a bouquet of white peonies and roses

I want to hold right now and then so I did
Fear finally did not object
But I couldn't feel you, nothing at all
I wish you could

Bells keep ringing on my ears
"Mi dispiace non riesco più a rimanere"
And before the canvas turned white
I said my last goodbye

Addio, addio il mio amore
Questo è crudele, ma Fate era stato buono
May we, once again meet
Not in the future but in another world.

You're like smoke.
You take my breath away
You numb the ache
But i can't hold you
I don't want to let you go
But I'm not holding on
If you'd rather be gone
Like smoke on a midnight breeze
Darling, won't you stay?