Absence

By Bernard Robinson

Empty, every nook and cranny, 

Ghost gone departed, 

Sense insensed, 

Absence drenched. 

Heart grief buckles, 

Mind white knuckles, 

Mother, father, bone, 

Alone, alone, alone. 

The veil is rent asunder, 

The earth resounds in thunder, 

Bells peal, blackbirds wheel, 

Turkish ground groans, 

Holy Eyup quakes and moans. 

Children in bed, 

Loved ones dead, 

Love light sight, 

Bright love might. 

Tear gulp trace blinds us, 

Beloved faces find us, 

In and out of breath, 

Swaddled in birth and death. 

*

Next: