Fade

First there is the light

and then there’s the

trying to remember

For awhile the whole blaze

can be invoked in memory

and there are various

tricks to try to do so

Then there’s the gleam,

a light that’s still real

but indirect, and there’s

the gazing at it, trying to think

if that’s the thing

we saw before,

if that’s the light that dazzled us

And it doesn’t seem quite the same

along the shining stones

but the essence is right.

We start to ask,

did we ever see it

as something more?

We try to re-engage

but ultimately

it will take a new dose of sun,

liquid reflected,

to kindle that first brightness once again.

©Wendy Mulhern

August 26, 2016