In the night I wake and lie
Quiet, still
The words come then
Easy now with no ears to hear
Whispered and lost again
Just motes of dust
Released and then lost in darkened corners

This night is all the nights I lay awake
Wondering
Giving voice and rein to fear and doubt
So easy with no border or boundary to contain them
Freely now they roam and prey from the corners of the night

The space between you and I,
an agony without bridge
a gap of a thousand miles or a handspan
still a chasm across which I dare not reach
I watch words fall away
tumble down like leaves to drift and spin
landing at last in night’s corners.


Finally, when dawn is more than a promise,
I step out into mist and the grey cloaked morning,
still haunted,
standing alone.
Waiting
for your smile,
the sun’s kiss,
to sweep clean, finally, night’s corners.