Empty tears

I refuse to cry

As a last ditch effort 

To change your mind

If left unshed

Then you’ll stay

And life will remain 

As it was before

You, still in love

Me, free from pain

An emotional flood

Held at bay

But tears have a way

Of finding their path

When forced to face

Life plans unmade

Your decision to leave 

I don’t understand

I’m too tired to fight

This invisible dam

I’ll find the strength 

To carry me through

The tears I’ll cry

Won’t be for you

Your heart speaks softly

As it consoles

Its cadence a comfort

A place to rest

My face nestled

Upon your chest 

I’ve never felt more alive

Blanketed by the warmth

Of your tender skin 

Together under mountains 

Of downy white

Breathing peacefully

On this coldest of winters night

Embers crackle as though to say

Their flame will burn 

Long after the break of day

How I too, wish

To remain, 

Here, within this loving cocoon

Held tightly while awaiting 

The golden rays of dawn

But all too soon

Dreams fade away

A love once lived

A dying flame

A gust of wind

A melted snow

Everything has

Its time to go 

In silence she works

Sewing fauna with ease

Instinctively planning a home

For her new family

Carefully she connects

One strand at a time

Creating a safe refuge 

To stay warm and dry

She labors by day

With no time to rest

Beneath a flower moon

She seems to pray

For health and strength

As most mothers do

And perseverance

To carry her through

After days of building

Satisfied, she broods

Savoring this quiet time

That won’t exist soon

Slicing through time

Yet falling so slow

Held by the air

As it begins to let go

Free of the past

It’s propelled by wind 

To a new beginning

But first, to an end

Twisting and turning

Savoring the flight

As it paints the sky

With visions of light

Under the suns halo

A warm golden glow 

Surrounded by love

It’s no longer alone

It prepares to land

As gravity calls

Upon blades of grass

It gently falls

Resting on golden leaves

Sleep comes fast

Safe and secure 

It’s home at last

Nature, a beast 

In comparison to 

Such little flapping wings

Fighting the winds, currents

And blinding ocean mist

It struggles to stay aloft

In search of

A meal at sea

It dives but fails

In an effort to catch

An elusive silvery fish

Instead, it touches down 

Upon the wet sand 

And it looks at me

As though to ask

If I could spare 

A crumb to eat

Its wings so tired 

It walks my way

On the tiniest of feet

Closer it ventures so boldly 

And begins to loudly speak

Its chitter-chatter overpowers 

The sound of the pounding waves

It paces and impatiently awaits

A wanted response from me

I try my best to explain 

That I have nothing to offer

It quips loudly 

At my empty hand 

Then advances in a final 

Desperate demand

I utter my regrets repeatedly 

Until, sadly, it understands

It slowly retreats 

Then quietly

Takes to the sky once again

It dips and swoops

Flying blindly 

Teasing the relentless sea

In its final quest 

At days end 

To find a morsel

Before it sleeps

When did we change

Each in our own distinct way

Growing apart 

While choosing to blame 

Time as the enemy

Or that one awful day

Rather than face the reality 

That it’s not just a phase

Change is normal

Even healthy, so they say

But I’ve been lost

Since the day 

That you went away

My mind realizes 

Your need to take to the sky

But a heart 

Never truly learns 

How to say goodbye

Did you try to show me

What my eyes refused to see

That one day

You would actually leave

If there was a way

To regress, to go back

I’d explain my reasons

For all those mistakes

That I never knew 

I had made

Her tears fall

Echoing the rhythm 

Of pelting rain 

Heartbeats against

A translucent pane

Blinding flashes of light

And thunderous cries

As the storm rages 

Deep within

A downpour of lies

She’s drowning 

Her mind 

A flood of memories

A lifeline

To remind her 

It is not as they say

She knows one thing

Her life will never be the same 

The window 

A scene

Of lost terrain

Cold, barren

Lifeless 

She remains

In dismay 

Dismantled so easily 

All those years, lost

She’s swept away

In waves of pain

A hearts deepest love

Shattered amid 

The broken pane

She peers into darkness

Then turns away

For she knows her tears

Will never stop the rain