For them, whose love we feel liven in death
Eternal in memory, gentle in every breath.
The sunlight seeped through the trees,
Making patterns on the bare patches of sand
Where I once walked as a carefree child
This neighbouring plot was then my fairyland.
I knew every tree, every bush, every fern;
They even had their own human names.
My footprints made a path around the house
I don’t see that path anymore. It’s such a shame.
It was a living dream once upon a lifetime,
Yet it feels like yesterday, just an hour ago.
Now, the overgrown garden full of emptiness,
The dream has paused forevermore.
When one by one the leaves fell away,
I should have known the autumn was here.
But I was too thrown off by the hues,
Warm golden yellows and the red-tinged cheer.
When one by one the birds flew away,
I should have known the winter was near.
I should have made myself ready,
Made myself strong and my skies clear.
But I dwelled in the dream in a trance,
Drinking in all the glimmers I saw,
Ignoring the truth and avoiding its gaze,
Pretending I didn’t see the afterglow.
Now I stand near the rusting gate,
Holding the chalice of reality in hand,
Swallowing the bitterness, sip by sip,
Training my eyes on the sun-dappled sand.
I count the snowflakes falling with the setting sun,
Turning all the colours to black and white.
The once vibrant memories of my early life
Slowly freezing in the fading light.
Don’t they say the Spring is promised,
No matter how long are the frigid days?
But a voice in my heart gently whispers in my ear:
“No, this winter here will forever stay.”
The days will pass, and the heart will heal.
The sun will rise every morning, I know.
But no amount of warm golden sun
Will ever melt away this glistening cold snow.
A tribute to my late uncle and aunt.