an obscure view

Photo by Sitanshu Sinha (Black Pearl Photography)

Oh, yes, there was a time, not so long ago,
when I could recall
every crease of your beautiful face
with perfect precision

its smooth contour
defined by your shiny brown skin
how it crinkled up into countless folds and lines
and I could see the laughter dance in your hazel eyes

so often had I traced your mouth with my eager lips
our breaths would mingle and dance skywards
like tiny slivers of our souls
drifting together in the misty air

Oh, yes, there was a time, not so long ago,
just after you left
when I saw you in almost everyone I met
round every corner, hidden in every breath

images of you I could see
with eyes wide open or tightly shut
visions seared into the depths of my soul
with a rusty nail driven through my heart

but now the memories are fading, disintegrating
like a disturbing dream
once vivid in the subconscious
now swiftly slipping away in the morning light

I see you
with the fuzzy sight of the intoxicated
that blurs the boundaries
between what is real and what isn’t

I see you
as if through misty eyes, brimming with tears
like I saw you the other night
when you kissed her under the stars

an obscure view
through a rain-streaked window
vague, unclear,
like the explanations you left behind for me