The Haunted

And who is this poem of lost love written to? The poet is obscure and smug, but from elements of the poem and his history (remember, he never lies in his poetry, just can be so personal and precise you are faced with a puzzle) I would guess Brigit. This poem was writ in the Spring of 2003, soon after she had made contact with him, again, and when he was starting to realize how much his marriage to the Leopard was on the rocks (For once, not his fault! Small comfort, I suppose, but still, less to feel guilty about.) A very nice poem of the purpose of an earnest heart.

The Haunted

I am haunted,
taunted by the memories.
locked thoughts caught in the instant
we touched.
the scent of your skin.
the thin fabrics falling,
calling me to carry you.
which I did, in duty and joy.
I will not erase from memory
for shame
or blame
or name of all the actors who pose
in rows of rose-tinted artifices,
seeking to speak what we said,
sell what we wove,
capture even a fragment
of a morsel
of a shadow
of the spectre
of the the passion
and the honest purpose
I know I brought to lay before you
as an offering of love.
and to bind me forever
to the every sensory sinew
of the cords of words
I spoke
and the offerings I made
in flesh and time.
where and when
I still am haunted
by you now.


William F. DeVault. all rights reserved.