Through the dust of emptiness
That is the space between your dreams and mine
Whirl carousels
That in their empty imagery go round and round
A thousand times,
Unlocking secrets of the universe.
You gasp! And wait, agog,
To clamber on those soulless machines -
But I, who care,
Am desperate for your love
And see you gone, long gone,
Even as you dream of worlds I cannot share,
And I weep, torn apart by all I’ve lost,
And cuddle closer now,
And shiver, deep ,
And whisper to my lonely travelling soul :
‘Come back to me!
For here all those moments are forgiven!’
Here can we rest, Love knows ,
And watch with wide-eyed imagination
My Lover’s leap
Into the unknown - no mortal hand can keep
You back , nor should,
Your destiny begins with love, my blood :
For here have I lost you ,
Here, where most I keep you in my warm arms
In safe embrace
Am I bereft, your dominion begun
Of that world chased
You must surely win, and having won deliver
To your child like I to mine
Have done: it’s done: in your birth of freedom
Travel on, be one - yourself - and leave me with your memories
Lingering on :
These arms enclose but hold not, for you’ve gone .
23/7/99
This poem was written after my toddler saw the wild carousels of the fair; and in that moment I saw that I’d lost my child, that one day she’d have her own dreams, that I couldn’t hold her back
