SANCTUARY

 I came home to you:

Distempered, denuded

Deterrents welcomed me.

Confined, detained; I stared out,

Into the night

Where darkness reigned

And fluorescent bulbs jeered at me.

Cajoled the heart;

Knew you would return.

I am all you have.

The empty godforsaken hall

Resonated yet- heaved, sighed:

Your lyrical breath haunts me still,

Even as the silhouette

Gently, unceasingly drifts away.

You’re not here

But your presence lingers on.

The smoke- like a

Sick, slick serpent

Stealthily it ate into me.

Shrivelled, wrinkled, weary

Weakened limbs trembled.

Even as the truth sank:

Plunging me headlong into

Uncertain abysmal shadows

You would not return.

It swallowed you and

Followed me home. Evil,

Empty sockets stared back.

Life- withering, waning, retreating.

A patter of tiny,

Scared feet scurried away-

Petrified but hopeful, still.

And as the silence

Grew profound, my mind

Became my sanctuary.

Where thoughts of you

Were still pulsating with life;

Where you

Laughed and loved and lived.