Spectrum

A Poem

Photo by bady abbas on Unsplash

everyone thinks they know you
(but do they — do they really?)

everyone always asks you questions
(but do they ever get to the heart of you?)

i thought i knew you
through a red filter —
painted glass —
until there were nothing but

unhappy endings

and i wandered through a valley
of my own unfortunate circumstances
till all i knew was uncertainty
glimpsed in moments

all the cascades of a thousand lives
could never have prepared me
for the bitter draughts
of a hundred missives

all cast out to the void

and i wanted nothing more
than to hold your hand in mine

and i wanted nothing more
than to quest a journey with you

through time, through space, through a land
so far from here

but there were too many rules at play
and we were guests at different parties
until the moment came when i didn’t recognize
the person i was…