Like shadowy wraiths they draw near

Gliding over walls

Triggered by fragrance, sound…..some ordinary occurrence

Giving life to stories lying dormant

Long forgotten

Like a frigid draft this one closes in

Encircles me with vengeance,

Pierces my heart…again.

Who said that time heals all wounds?

For I stand here waiting….waiting

But the pain lives on.

This unseen scar,

My constant reminder

I endure, knowing that it will pass

Knowing that it has passed

Although my soul would have me believe otherwise

Like a phantom the next one rises

Infamy mounted upon its back

Causing it; being it

To an unknown and treacherous path

The wrong turn flickers in the mist

One seemingly insignificant move

Heedlessly taken in the imprudence of youth

But on that day the well ran dry.

My mouth fills with bile

The bitter taste of regret

Like a sunbeam another surrounds me

Warming my heart from pleasures past

Basking in life’s rays…

The sound of a child’s laughter…

The scent of dew wet grass…

The beauty of a golden sunset…

Cool breeze on a warm face…

Loving and being loved…

A serene smile calls those days forth…..but uncertainly

For distress lingers in the midst of delight

The one accompanying the other

I must relive them both

For they are a part of me

What I am made of.