Her Face in My Heart

When I was ready to depart, I saw her face,
sitting by herself, so calm and serene. I tried
recalling the words rehearsed for so many days
but sweat broke on my temple and my throat went too dry…

With a bleeding heart, I limped away from her face,
into the falling darkness of the night, thinking,
who am I but a soul, putrefied beyond cognizance…

As the distance rose between me and her,
my desire to look back kept growing too intense
to be curbed, yet I fought with all my heart until
the dusty, barren road took a turn and
she could no longer be seen, even if I tried…

Hours later as I sit miles away
from both her palpable world and abstract realm of thoughts
I wonder how much of her face has truly been
forgotten and how much I still have in my throbbing heart!