A Book

In the fierce midday sunshine
Of a midsummer memory
I flinch at the recollection
Of a pointless argument

In the cold shadow of a winter night
I recall the warmth of a cold embrace
The reverberations of a silent clock
Mirror your frowning face

You're still here
In the afterglow of lightning
Is the warmth of your laughter
In the soft centre of a cloud
Is the steely determination of your will

Thunder's echo shadows the lilt of your sighs
The blinding brilliance of a sunlit snowdrift recalls you
Welcoming against the background of a sheet

The gentle kiss of a spring shower
Reminds me that, once, I wondered why you cried

The fading lines of a post-card
Entombed in a once loved, dusty book
Remind me of the chances we took
Although it seemed we had no choice

It touched us both, that book
It touched us both.
I hear the echo of your voice
In the spaces between words
In the peace that follows rage
The silences between sounds
The eternity between moments
In the memories between forgetting
In and on each line on this page
I remember.

MJM

www.craftylistening.co.uk