Winter's Tears

Now that winter has arrived (at least in spirit even though we technically have 17 more days), I can finally add this piece, which started, long ago (about 12 years actually) in a completely different direction and style. The original poem was more stream of consciousness and free verse, but the final form actually rhymes and has a consistent imagery. In the end, I like this one better, if only because it takes a personal experience and makes it more universal.

'Winter's Tears'

"Of all sad words of tongue and pen, the saddest are these, 'It might have been'". --- John Greenleaf Whittier, Maud Muller

Tell me.

Lost in the silent cold
Replaying her words in my mind,
I struggle for emotion
A voice I have not the strength to find.

I cannot.

Enfolded in a blanket of night
Frost forming within my heart,
I long to seek courage
Only one thing keeps us apart.

Tell me.

Awakened in the mournful dawn
Drifting through the frozen day,
I wait for an answer
Except she has nothing to say
But...

Tell me.

Yet I cannot.

Her lips brush against my cheek
Cold from a deep despair,
Only wanted those words
Warmth I could not share.

Tell me.

Her pain haunts me in the bitter twilight
Nothing left to say,
A tear wells in my eye
And falls far, so far away.

C.