The Quiet Earth

When a dream goes astray...

That was the original introduction to this poem (on my writing portfolio, I was allowed a little one line intro to each piece posted), and it still holds to some extent, for this poem is certainly about what was and would never be again. Not that this was a bad thing, but I needed to write it to close one door and move on completely. I think I had always pined away for what was even when I told myself I was not. Simple fact of human nature, I think. In any event, I had spent a long day upon a beach in Western Australia, just watching, listening, and I knew... I knew I could write it all away. I had reached a point where I could accept the present, and the past could simply be laid to rest. The end results were several poems that served to heal, but this one had an edge to it, I guess, that allowed me to finally understand how I go to that place, and how to move on. I admit, it is quite cynical, more so than I am these days, but I think have always been more cynical as a writer than as a person...

'The Quiet Earth'

In the depth of my heart,
I knew what had to be...

You believed in the best of me
Tho' saw the worst in my eyes;
I gave you little in return,
Save the burden of my pride.

Is that the price I would pay
To be damned by my love?

You wanted everything for me
Yet understood the pain borne within;
I held back all my fears,
'Til their fury could not be contained.

In the tumult of this life,
I could not compromise.

You remain in the depth of my heart
But lost to the quiet of my soul;
I, of course, cannot give anymore
For my world has grown far too cold.

So many years gone...
All that lingers is the silence.

C.