Everything That Touches Me

Everything that touches me

flutters wings in webs of loss,

captured dreams that cannot be,

open wounds with sphagnum moss.

Hopeful liege of tattered silk,

threaded echoes gently loom.

A mystic moon, white as milk,

softly spills into my room.

 

Underneath her spectral beams,

sad memories start to flake.

Time passes; and yet, it seems

this shadow I cannot shake.

Parents lost to hands of fate,

loving lost and never known.

In grave silence, they await

beneath pillars made of stone.

 

Locks of hair and portrait grace

in a hope chest made of wood.

Wedding rings and bridal lace

are the keepsakes long withstood.

Past the point of no return,

past the spark of light of day,

altars rise and candles burn

in rooms where none come to pray.

 

Clouds are heavy with my tears.

Sad rains fall into the sea.

I have mourned the long, lost years

wanting what can never be.

A totem love, a class ring,

and loving words unspoken.

A heart lifts its fragile wing

to find that it is broken.

 

Sometimes love is not enough.

It rests better with the dead.

Mournful waves below the bluff

drifting softly through my head.

I was never there at all

in the corners of your heart.

Long forgotten, faded, small.

My true love would never part.

 

I opened the door a crack,

and the sunlight burned my skin.

You shifted and wrenched it back,

and the clouds came rushing in.

I am tethered to the past

with memories yet to mend.

Never first, but always last.

I find comfort in the end.

 

I will always remember

those things known and yet unknown.

You left me in December.

Since then, I have walked alone.

I fade into verdigris

as my bloodline turns to rust.

The breath of life departs me.

I return unto the dust.

 

Plant me on yon sacred hill

beneath the cypress and yew.

Give me a notebook and quill

with inkwells of morning dew.

Let me write across the sky

all the words I should have said

to touch each heart and rapt eye.

Love rests better with the dead.

Author's Note

Reviews

[Chris Shaw]

I can’t remember reading a poem which has touched me so much in its sadness. Your skill shines forth here Linda. You convey that sadness to perfection, along with rhyme and meter equally so. Not only in this poem but in all you write. You are inspirational.

Chris

[Kelly Scheppers]

The artfulness and brilliance you exude with the written word is truly a gift. You finesse your reader with flair, consistency and absolute wonder. I admire your work tremendously, and the pleasure and inspiration it brings me! Thank you!

[Carola]

hi linda,
wow, what a wonderful yet sad poem.
love your choice of words, you are a true wordsmith, & your haunting music plays well with your poem.⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
cheerio carola

[John the Baptist]

I am awed by the craftsmanship of this poem. The meter, the rhyming and the imagery are all so splendid that I am left wondering how long it took to write it. It is certainly not the product of a single day. On the other hand, the sadness that flows forth from it is overwhelming. And as I have noted in some of your other works, it narrows down to a single relationship. I hope I don't seem dismissive when I also hope you are not allowing this part of your life dominate the rest of it.

[Lorry]

Life is unfair, for all the hurt and pains we are faced with. Enduring losses random in their giving, as well as the taking away, leaving us more and more confused as we try to make sense of what at times feels like a senseless life.
We hear the platitudes people say that are somehow meant to make us feel better, like we are never given more than we can take, but if that's the case, why are there so many broken souls surving, not living amongst us?
Perhaps, maybe, that your words, written so eloquently, are your reason, to give others hope that they are heard and not as alone as they think they are.

[willweb]

The sadness in this amazing piece is very strong and definitely heavy, a weight it feels that one could hardy bear. Life is not always fair along the lines of sadness and happiness but I believe that the two end up equal in the end. If life has been predominantly sad then get ready because happiness is right around the corner. Your talent blows me away my friend. This is not only sad, it is epic.

[emmajoygreen]

Your poem is full of past sadness and longing, memories you'll more than likely forget.. or never want to, however much they hurt. Then as your words move across the page, you slip into the not so far past and feel a sadness that clings to your mind, memory and being. How i'd like to hold your hands and say.. something, anything to help. Sighing for you.

Your video reminds me of.. long ago dreams, It fidgets its way into a place, doesn't it.. ..

[jacob erin-cilberto]

this is incredibly sad, and the music pushes that emotion across even further.
I am also reminded of the song by the Outsiders called "Girl in Love"---
j.

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Thank you, Jacob. I had never heard of the song and just read the lyrics. So sad indeed.

[jacob erin-cilberto]

here is the link to it....the melody is sweet.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=flb2ZSlIcaQ

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Linda Marie... I know the loneliness of a broken Heart
that will never see the other side of the Moon... and yet we know
the melancholy of dreams when storm clouds grieve. tenderly, Pat

[Linda Marie Van Tassell]

Dear, Pat. Your review is a poem in and of itself. What beautiful thoughts. Bless you. Linda

[Patricia Wedel]

dear Linda… thank you for your blessings. Poetry does soothe our Heart 💜 and soul. Softly, Pat