It was too early in the hour
for the sigh of pain to arise
but there is no time for rest
when you foresee no violence.

She sat against the light of a
bright Monday smiling against
all hope of a gentle dawn
given to surroundings unknown.

It may have been a charming moment
speaking words of poetry
literature and illustrious painters
safe in a logical world made for the kind-hearted.

It was not to be, before this glorious
backdrop of her favorite colors
a moody fall and playful fairy tale
the melody came to a sudden end.

Exhausted she sighed in despair
whispering the end of her hopes
eyes sad, fixed to the emptiness below
he too cried as she slowly reached for comfort.

About the Author:

Poussin is a professor of French and World Literature. His work in poetry and photography has appeared in Kestrel, Symposium, The Chimes, and hundreds of other publications worldwide. Most recently, his collections In Absentia, If I Had a Gun, Half Past Life, and The Temptation of Silence were published in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 by Silver Bow Publishing.