Ghosts, No Random Memory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Who has never returned to the scene of a once-love, if only in their mind, and wondered how things might have been if only…?

GHOSTS, NO RANDOM MEMORY

Much rougher the sea

than last we ran here, laughing

on the cliffs,

a spring breeze in our hair;

less kind the sky

than last we kissed there,

bluebells surrounding

a passion brought to bear;

sweet memory, wings

of a friendly gull soaring our dreams,

love’s rhythm to fulfill;

such heat to embrace your body,

and bold! In the vaults

of eternity, our lives grown cold;

salty now, the hair blowing

across my face, thinned

like the heather at our special place

Though huddled in a raincoat,

I, oh, so easily recall the glad heart

that made me thrall…

Gulls squeal! No melody,

but a sure grace

whirling against storm clouds

like a pattern of lace

on an altar cloth, would have

smothered us both

Copyright R. N. Taber 1991; 2010

[Note: This poem has been slightly revised from an earlier version as it appeared in several poetry magazines and an anthology 1996-2004, and subsequently  in 1^st eds. of Love And Human Remains by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2001; 2nd (revised) e-edition in preparation.]