This week, PoetsUnited has as its Midweek Motif the concept of “Watersheds”. The challenge to participants is to: “Describe a watershed moment in your life…” – Here is my contribution.
Mirage
I glimpsed you but for an instant
In the midst of throbbing crowds
And you were lost,
Just like a frightened bird
Scared into flight.
Your after-image is burnt indelibly,
Branded, as though with red-hot iron,
On the clear vellum of my memory.
Were it that I never met with you again,
And keep forever that image of your perfection…
Perhaps you were illusory
And all my yearning eyes beheld
Was a mirage,
A mere reflection
Of my every hope.
And yet, if only I could see you once again,
I would rejoice in your reality.
To hope that you would look for me is vain,
But if I could only gaze into your eyes
Once more, but for a moment,
And for that brief, elusive moment
Make believe that we two share all.
Two streams meet and part in an instant. Sigh. When it comes to hearing God, this occasion gives me hope. I'm not so certain when it is seeing a human.
ReplyDeleteThis feels like loss. Of that glimpse of someone you once knew or loved that is gone but you caught a wisp of they bringing back all the memories.
ReplyDelete...but we always remember.
ReplyDeleteTo "keep forever that image of your perfection" - yes, it is wonderful when a memory keeps its golden sheen for always. This is a poignant write, the sudden glimpse, just like a frightened bird, scared into flight", I so know that longing for one more look into the loved one's eyes.....I feel it, too.
ReplyDeleteWere it that I never met with you again,
ReplyDeleteAnd keep forever that image of your perfection…
Such beautiful lines :D Well penned :D
Ah yes, there are people from my past that I wish I could meet again - just to see them, see how they are. Sometimes I look on Facebook, but some people are, I fear, forever elusive. Perhaps all WAS a mirage after all!
ReplyDeleteI feel the longing here ~~~
ReplyDeleteBeautifully written sentiments of longing and need for a soul connection. Fantasy is an essential ingredient in the poet's tool kit. Enjoyed this a lot.
ReplyDeleteYou've beautifully captivated the watershed moment here Nick...the yearning is so palpable...
ReplyDeleteBeautiful. I like how the narrator maintains that ideal memory. The romance in this is almost spiritual. Enjoyed this so much.
ReplyDeleteSometimes when you see or even meet someone from your past you find that you both are the same people you were many years ago. Well for me that is and it is great to rekindle that love and trust in the other.
ReplyDeleteInteresting how such fleeting moments may have huge and lasting impact.
ReplyDeleteThe loss here is palpable--beautifully penned!
ReplyDeleteA lost opportunity is a mean thing! One can never hope for a similar episode. That is the way how reality can be educational to many of us! It is always after the fact. Great word-craft Nicholas!
ReplyDeleteHank
Getting lost in what might have been is a pastime that we all engage in but probably should avoid.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful poem about a love that could have been... What we are unfamiliar with has a mystique that can obsess us.
ReplyDelete