I Never Met the Love I Lost

by John Herlihy

I never met the beloved that I lost,

Lost beyond all calculation of cost.

Her perfume of absence filled the air,

Her whispered words felt as prayer.

The tinkle in her voice never heard,

In cyber space only tweets of a bird.

Her green eyes never seen in the light,

Only the shadowy glimmer of moonlight.

The phantom loss still feels as presence,

A piece stolen away from my essence.

On a ghost ship, destination unknown,

Into the fabric of life’s tapestry sewn.

In memory, I still her moods reckon,

In the dark of night, her tears beckon.

Her ghost ship now traverses open seas,

As I revive her presence on bended knees.

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Copyright © John Herlihy

Thursday 19 June 2025