Caught in the Afterglow

A Poem

Photo by Mélody P on Unsplash

i keep thinking back
to starlit nights
when all i wanted
was just another moment
shared with you in the dark

but time’s passed
and we’re older now
where hideaways disappear
one by one
until there’s nothing left

i wish i could close my eyes
and return to that room
where we barricaded ourselves
while the storms of life roared outside
and we stayed warm in our little coccoon

but there’s no wishing
on fading stars
as they burst
and become
faraway ghosts

i tell myself stories
of our time together
as if they’ll become legends
for us to tell our children someday
in separate houses across state lines

but there’s no going back
to winsome hours
and wine-drunk kisses —
those telltale signs of lives
with no strings attached