Lingering

He painted me a portrait

Of a summer sky at dawn

I glanced at it then rolled it up

And put it on the shelf

I didn't want to look outside

The world that I know

I prefer the mirror

Prefer looking at myself 
 

A thousand years have slipped away

Gloomy lines of dust

And hanging vapors cross

The blurry course I ran
Finally I came upon
The image that I’d lost

A wake of lifetimes gone

Deftly dyed by a loving hand 
 

I saw the shade he bled for me

Where I’d spilled my wine

And how long tearstains last

I began to comprehend

Now there’s but a memory

Of clouds torn in the wind

Leaving me behind

I should have followed you my friend

© Teresa Mayville