Prologue

(What Was Lost In The Dark)

Photo by Taylor Smith on Unsplash

I lost you long before
the darkness fell
and daylight turned
against us.
Poke the sun in the eye,
prepare to burn
or freeze or both.

When the darkness fell,
it did not multiply:
there was no need.
That which always was
rose to the top
and filled its empty space.
The world turned
monochrome overday.

You were in my arms,
a little bird — a tiny thing
with a butterfly heart
to match my own.
I had my dreams.
But one day you
would dream in ways
I could never know.

I felt goodbye
long before
it could be voiced.

Darryl Willis 2020