Squandering Second Thoughts

 

As softly I wander back over the year

I squander sweet second thoughts on you, dearest dear

Time’s subtle purloining seals each moment-gasp

Yet it cannot steal the fond memories I clasp

Here where the cold wind moans blue in the dark

I held your hand as we strolled through the park

I hold you still though the summer has fled

And all that remains is its song in my head

Down by the woodlot stark skeletal limbs

Reach for the echo of verdant midnight hymns

But all they can muster of their fallen grace

Are winter’s stiff bluster and a tear on my face

The gathering shadow cannot snuff your sigh

Though eve snuffs the daylight and dawn snuffs the night

And though Time’s purloining seals years in its clutch

It cannot steal the thought of you from my touch

© Janet Martin