In pouring rain,
I walk the lane
I used to walk with you.
All on my own,
Heart turned to stone,
A one, I walk for two.
My footsteps sound
Upon the ground,
But something’s missing: yours!
That’s no surprise,
I realise,
Since love goes on all fours.
And now I pass
The patch of grass
Where once we both sat down.
The grass was green
And sparkling clean,
But now it’s dirty brown.
Then – what a fright! –
A bird takes flight!
I start to shout, “Look there!”
But there’s no point.
Life’s out of joint
When there’s no one to share.
Now here’s the tree
Where, kissing me,
You told me you were ill.
As I recall
That hammer fall,
It still brings me a chill.
With that blow dealt,
The joy I’d felt
Gave way to deep despair.
But, true to style,
You flashed a smile
And pulled me back from there.
“Don’t think that I
Would up and die
And leave you here,” you said.
“It’s just that I’m
In step with time
And going on ahead.”
If that’s the case,
There’ll come a place
Where we shall meet again.
And so I let
Myself get wet
And walk on down the lane.
Photo by Sonika Agarwal on Unsplash