Phantom of Love
A poem inspired by Kenneth Slessor's 'Five Bells' and the loss of love at first sight
To my dearest lost soul,
Dark shrouds the skies, blocking life from light,
Tormenting me. My love at first sight,
A sunless box you forever rest,
Hidden away, shutting light from death.
Bones bare, broken, no more held by me
Like I held you, hearts a symphony,
Dancing in the light of the blue moon.
A love so pure, rare, but brought us doom.
Now you’re gone, in the deep void of black,
I’m alone on this forsaken track.
Your smile, laugh, warm eyes, and melting heart
Promised me we’d never be apart.
I walk a road not mine to advance.
Behind lies endless, empty expanse.
Life slinking into obscurity,
Here I’m sinking in impurity.
In shadows of death, life forgotten,
Of lost friends, hopes and grief begotten.
The road points straight - forward and backward,
Yet you strayed into arms of dark wood.
They grip you, branches like sharp tendrils,
Black veins against a sky of perils.
The tree which was your last reckoning
Looms ahead of me now, beckoning.
You wore your tightly woven necklace,
Rope burned your skin, your last smile, reckless.
A sigh rested on your cracked dry lips.
A sad sound carried by the wind rips
My soul, now pieces cracked and broken
By the roar of your breath awoken.
Is it the howl of the windy gale?
The same cold wind that turned your skin pale
Which steals my air (I’m too a victim)
Which left you as a breathless phantom?
The tree’s fingers lured you, held you fast,
While wind tore your sigh from your weak grasp,
Careless, stiff and heavy you there swung,
Lashed by the angry, bitter wind’s tongue
No more able to harm you darling.
In my heart always, despite departing.
Love at first sight isn’t eternal.
You’re gone. My memory, infernal,
Leaves only imprints of our true love
I can now hardly even write of,
Memories of you obscured, shapeless,
And your voice is now muffled, soundless.
Your face is gone, but feeling remains,
My heart twists and knows what it still craves;
A passion, a love song on the breeze,
Which you sang on our first date with ease.
Your heart’s missing, take mine forever
So that we are always together.
Your imprint on life is all but gone
And I, lost and hopeless, wait for dawn
For the sun’s beam, heavenly fire
To warm my cheeks like your true fibre
I wait, my love, for your sweet release
But you’re still in the dark. Please, find peace.
Forever yours,
Betty
About the Creator
Eloise Robertson
I pull my ideas randomly out of thin air and they materialise on a page. Some may call me a magician.
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Reader insights
Outstanding
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Top insights
Compelling and original writing
Creative use of language & vocab
Heartfelt and relatable
The story invoked strong personal emotions
Comments (1)
This has a wonderful dark beauty to it, a wonderful waterfall of verse.