-- On Leaving --

John Herlihy

She laughs heartily at my every joke,

Lilting echoes that lift my heavy yoke.

Her fine line of smile a trace of sublime,

Written in a script intended to be mine.

The whispers sink deep down into my ears,

Those sinuous caverns now filled with tears.

Her smell of blossoms, licorice, budding lilacs,

Reminds of the heavens where florals amass.

I end up whispering but can only faintly hear,

Her loving response as it approaches near.

She thought I was leaving, never to see me,

Of course not, my dear, you are ever near me.

If destiny takes me to some far distant shore,

I will take you with me and love you even more.

- - - - - -

(c) John Herlihy 12 October 2019