was there time before
you made of this a choice
and passed beneath the window
without a name

did you tarry
on the orchard
waiting way too long (again)
for something more to come
(it never came)

remembering another life
and words
you might have said
seems now the door is locked
the path grown o’er
and nothing you can do or say
will change the past
to be

can’t take it back
to starting –
can’t bring it back to me

when passed we have
into the place of tortured recollection
memories to haunt us
(fate we keep)
truth was more than honest –
than we could ever be
a weight too much
we carry to our sleep

take again
one labored breath
and let the rest be passed
gather now the moments
you hold dear
love remains
and nothing else
(nothing else can matter)
say it now
tho no one waits
to hear

Author’s Note – Inspired by a heart-wrenching entry
in a dear friend’s notebook of truth –
‘he is dead now’ from Scattered leaves with poetic imprints