You will sense me in strangers
as you catch your breath and pause.
You will find me in places
where you never thought I was.
You will hear me in music
and in the laugh of passers-by,
flickers of familiar comfort
that make you stop and sigh.
You may sadly shake your head
and admonish how you long,
but don’t dismiss your instinct yet
-- You may not be wrong.
What if I am there
in the instant earth can’t grasp?
The smell of fragrance in the air,
a tender shoulder pat…
Trust your heart that it is me,
no matter who believes you.
The simple truth as we both know –
I would never leave you.

I loved you
with wild abandon.
Your fire, so hot,
and I walked right in
without a thought
for my safety.
I was happy
to be fuel for you.
Perhaps you burned
a little brighter
because of me.
But you were starved
of oxygen
and there was nothing
I could do.
Oh, how I wished
that I could breathe for you.
So fleeting was your glow,
now where am I to go?
I see the other flames,
they’re not the same.
My source of heat
extinguished,
I’m cold to the core
of my soul.
Another says I’m not finished.
She has hope for this lump of coal?
A million lifetimes more
before I transform
into that diamond
sparkling with the lost fires
it has known.
A gem exquisitely cut
from the embers of your love.