HIRAETH

1. HIRAETH

And then,

there was

You.

A snapshot, a moment from long ago.

The first time I saw you.

A smile, cut wide into your boyish face,

Ebony curls tied at the nape of your neck,

Saying little, seeing all.

Standing confidently

In a world where you shone,

Welcoming me in.

It was only an instant, but I knew;

Imagined the decades between us melting

As my life faded into the shadows

And a new landscape emerged.

I was bruised and broken.

I knew not to trespass

Upon your injured soul.

But I saw my pain mirrored in yours,

And hoped that by wrapping myself within you

I could heal.

I had to leave our relationship.

It was all on your terms

and didn’t allow or force me to grow.

I deserved more than you could give me,

you wrote after many stolen years.

You, the quiet victim;

Me, the greedy thief.

My shame hangs heavy.

A snapshot, a moment from a year ago,

The last time I saw you.

Smile cut deep, curls falling freely across your face,

Released from your past, finding your future,

Towering confidently in your new world,

The girl with pink hair ever by your side.

I watched as you strode forwards together,

perfectly in step.

I was heading in a different direction,

Falling behind the only one who hasn’t left me,

Despite everything I’ve done to make him go.

He deserves more than I can give.

My guilt weighs heavy.

I saw you on that night in the distance,

watched the many years of us evaporate,

Leaving no discernible trace.

It was only for an instant, but I knew.

And then

You were

Gone.

August 2025