I thought we had a world

I thought we had a world

I held it in my hand

Cradled it carefully

Taking it with me

On every journey.

When we sat

On the frame

Of a five-bar gate,

Walked the high hills

Idled by a river

Dallied in the warm air

Breathing all the way in

Tasting the day

Watching Mute Swans

Chattering amongst themselves

As beautiful as the very devil

We were

Blessed.

Too easily

Blinded by perfection

Before the turn

Winter in midsummer

The essence of chaos

Howling, incomprehensible

An audacious wind

Twisting tall trees

Every which way.

Squirrels stood on branches

Waving wildly

In arboreal surprise

The breath leaving their bodies

With the force

Of a hurricane

As did mine.

Every time we see the end

Of something bigger

Than ourselves

There is a pause

As the truth of it

Struggles to catch up.

There is a world out there

Over the hill

Where the path meanders

Over potholes

Full of kitchen sinks.

There is always a downside

Even a Tea Clipper

As sleek a ship

As ever was

Struggles in the Doldrums.

It needs all the help it can get

To find its way home

My heart is wrenched

All the way out

Leaving its cavity.

It took flight

Even when I tried to hold on

There was no saving it.

I saw it fly

Out into the ether

Turning the sky scarlet

The sun barely able to lift

Itself above the weight

Of its fall.

I still believe

There is a world

Holding on

By its fingertips

As the heat rises in my cheeks

From the effort

Of standing firm

Against the storm

As eventually

Another point of reference

Tumbles,

Over the hill.