once

Once

In an old abandoned house

Leaning on an edgeless prairie 

Where the wind played 

At the velocities of it’s will

I climbed up into the desiccated dusted attic 

And opened a wooden box 

Time faded letters 

Trinkets that tethered moments 

Fountain pen etched words

Written on oceans torn apart 

He took care not to nurture her fears

But between every word 

A truth could not be ignored 

That he was both the hunted

And the hunter 

The wind sang mournful 

Through the weathered old home

What hopes and dreams 

Are woven into days yet lived

Only to be

Tucked away in abandoned boxes

and hearts 

And what war does to love

We should never forgive....