poised now
the twilight
to turn away the moon –
denied by fate
to see her
blushing bride

given to excuses
for what might never be
let me in
she pleaded
with the tide

how can I
when nothing here
is making me of sense
and surely love so real
will bring me shame

of passions sweet
such tenderness
I yearn to know your ways
to still my heart from bursting
yours
the same

what am I
but ancient steel
some distance from the sun
brushed aside
my honor
for your breeze

as memories
the past resolved
as living let me love
provision now for something
I can’t see

hold the night
a moment more
let me hear your sigh
returning me to silence
waning here

before the dawn
of leaving lost –
there I hold you still
forgotten now
my story –
distance marked
by fear

Author’s Note: Partially inspired by a quote shared with me by a student –
“But holding people away from you, and denying yourself love, that doesn’t make you strong. If anything it makes you weaker, because you’re doing it out of fear.”