Lost Dreams


Day drifts into night
and the sun 
takes one last lingering glance
before turning out the light.

Under the dim murmur
of a waning moon
she drags her finger through
the initials carved 
in the trunk of every tree
and traces the heart around them
with her tears.

But the letters don’t match
the name on the lease
and she scrubs her face with rosewater
and hopes it runs reddened
down the drain,
coloured with regret
 tinged with lost dreams.

The only hint of hope 
among her chaos
is the glimmer of a distant star,
but it’s so far away 
and tonight
the clouds are thick.

Night fades into day 
and the clock strikes in quarter time
just slightly out of key
and the hunt for missing dreams 
runs dry, awaiting rain.

She wakes
in the shadows of someone else’s morning,
struggles out of bed 
and chooses which smile to wear,
slipping into step  
at someone else’s pace
down a crowded road
eons away
from her heaven.

She keeps her tears 
in the pocket of her coat
waiting for the day she’ll have enough 
 to float her away
guided by the light
of a distant star.



july 2005
©Janet Reid




Awarded by New Horizons ~ Oct 11, 2006






Awarded by Friendly Musings ~ August 25, 2005




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