Daylight Forsaken

Do you remember when Aurora
invoked dawn in the sky above us?
How we watched her colors spread
above the highway, the gas station - across the fields,
painting reality in vivid splendor
as we traversed its mundane streets
bathed in the frail whispers of possibility?

We disappeared into the trees
where we spilled our secrets,
let them echo in the early morning stillness
of the orchards; a murmured resonance
played to the tempo of our heartbeats.
We didn't even care when reality invaded
[in the form of an angry farmer]
and shooed us back into its clutches;
it could not break the spell.

Or the night we lost hours
in each others' eyes,
[you knew I was afraid of eye contact - too vulnerable; you changed that]
finding our way out only when the sun
cast his rays upon your face.
So we left behind the cover of night
and emerged into the light
of a new day.

Or the time
you let me drive your car
in high-heeled hiking boots.
[but only on the back roads, away from civilization]
When morning bloomed out of the horizon
I turned and saw the smile blossoming on your face
and sleep became unnecessary.
[at least until my eyes glued themselves shut, exhausted from staring in wonder]

Can you remember when dawn
was still magical?
I'm starting to forget.
Now she is a frequent guest
bringing with her nothing but bad news;
harbinger of the day that seeks
to strain our eyes, nearly as much
as our minds.

There is no longer anything new about day.

It is dusty, heavy and yet hollow
like long-forgotten furniture, abandoned
for fresher wares.
We ripple stagnant into the cloying air,
dissolving into shadows
that can never be recalled.

Day is filled with places
that could never comprehend
what we have lost,
clinging to all the while, in desperation:
our will, our strength, ourselves -
each other.
Light promises nothing to the broken -
it merely illuminates the cracks.

Nightfall conceals us:
our fear, our pain, our weakness -
even from ourselves.
We dive into obsidian depths,
lost beneath waves of starlight,
in blissful disconnect -
we are free.

Dusk became our refuge.
Deeply, we inhaled her mysteries
held them safe within our lungs,
exchanging ancient truths
with every kiss.
Now my breaths are shallow
as the life they sustain.
Will night become nothing more than a shelter -
devoid of all enchantments, looming in the dark?
Will her shadows hold only gloom, and space
as empty as my hours?

I long for the day
dawn will bleed our sorrows across the sky;
in brilliant colors and resplendent patterns;
and we will dance in the gossamer light of gathering hope
as the colors fade - swallowed, enveloped
in the light
of a new day.