Artificial Lights, Real Feelings

A poem on the intersection of reality and wishful thinking

Photo by ølı on Unsplash

The silence of concrete entombs the city
of wondrous struggles and hidden desires.
In a moment, the flashing lights will reach us
and chase our loneliness away.

These lights that blind us, became our shelter.
Through them I first noticed your eyes,
and you swaddled my racing heartbeat.
In them, we sealed this unspoken soul pact.

Why did it take us so long to see the truth?
An empty world awaits and we swear
by the powers that tear us down,
that we won’t forget each other.

Ghosts of memories tiptoe below us,
dancing on the broken sidewalks
that once shone under the flashing lights,
singing a mournful lullaby only the two of us can hear.

Holding hands and standing on the edge
of our imperfect feelings,
we dive into the final rays of artificial light —
emerging on the other side of pain.