Huddled, strained, with craned necks to the board,
They wish for that missing number,
The hope they wait upon—
The launchpad to their homes.

Puzzled, drained, enraged—the muttered sounds.
They miss that sudden cue,
The rush to be the one;
That fearful scrum of drones.

Tom Lefort

You were the light of dawn, the hue of dusk,
The fingers gently curled within my hand.
A promise that all would be as we dreamed,
The breath of hope upon my lips.
You were the life in me, the reason I rose each day,
The yearning for which all hearts will sigh.
A depth of friendship few could ever understand.

That spell of summer has long since passed,
Such dreams it cast upon us.
A haze of last light's first love, so adored,
In which our brokenness was made whole.
And there, love-soaked madness carried us afar,
Such naïve tenderness we bore;
Yet lost hopes and passions abhor us now,
In this winter we sadly bear.

Tom Lefort - October 2024

Darkness returns like a beloved friend,
Wrapping its arms around my life—
Throttling, comforting, confounding.
In its embrace, I find my peace,
A place to claim as mine alone,
Gentle, fervent, sublime.

It holds me like a long-lost love,
Casting its spell upon my days,
Hallowed, addled, entwined.

Tom Lefort 2024

All those yesterday's are my tomorrow,
A dawn of memories run astray;
Nostalgia's spell from which I borrow,
The dusk and embers of our ways.

Tom Lefort

Whisper not, hold that word of truth,
They are watching us.
Think not to stand your ground,
They are imprisoning us.
Write not the words that burn within,
They are beating us.
Surrender not, evil won't prevail,
They are blaming us.

England 2024

Quiet now, close your eyes;
Take the outstretched hand of yesteryear.
Let our fingers touch, entwine and hold,
To feel the pulse of much loved pasts
Where our pain and passion remains untold.

Remember now, open your hearts;
Run toward the open arms of all those days.
Long for her embrace, press closer home,
To hear the beating heart of all we shared
When our lives and loves were all we owned.

Tom Lefort