From the nightmare
we wake to the dream
before we open our eyes to reality
I fear I fret I freeze I forge I face I forget
I love you, he said
from the pages of the book
in her hand as she sat alone reading by the window
I am alone I am alive I am only I am everything I am enough
We yearn so much
be to adults as children
then perish ever after in the absence of youth
I want I wish I will I wasted I was I withered
We mourn so much
for what we’ve lost in death
because we ignored the chance to celebrate life
Too soon Too early Too busy Too far Too late
He kissed her lips
beneath the darkness
and remembered the light of another long forgotten
I like I lust I love I lost I like I lust I love I linger in the longing
I walk out into the water and the reflection
that rises from the surface
is the face of a shadow now drowned
a reflection of what once was
a skin long since shed
a kiss long since settled
a curiosity quieted
a loss let go of
a fear long since faced
and folded and floated away
to wherever the water runs to
after it washes towards me
through me and past me
past the past of me.
Header photograph © Heather Wharram.
Born in Dublin, living in Paris, Damien is a pattern-maker for a fashion brand with a love for writing, mostly poetry on the themes of nature and fragility, featured on his blog http://www.deuxiemepeau.blog along with accompanying photography and artwork. His first short story was published in the book ‘Second Chance’, in Ireland, followed by another in the ‘Body Horror Anthology’ from Gehenna and Hinnom Publishing. His poetry has been featured in the online magazines of FireFly, Scribe Base, The Fable Online and the poetry anthology ‘Nous Sommes Paris’ by EyeWear Publishing and in Ireland’s The Runt Magazine.
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