Dawn Breaks On The Dark City

 

Dawn Breaks On The Dark City

Dawn breaks on the dark city

And his eyes open and look straight away

At the golden sun rising in the east

Through the window that only last night

Was washed clean by drenching rain.

His first thought was of her

Her dark eyes, her hair like raven's wings

And the smile that set his heart pounding

Like a battalion of military horses

Marching off to fates yet unknown.

How had he been so foolish?

How had he let her go?

Nay, driven her away with his unspoken love

And manly pride hidden under layers of fear

Fueled by years of boyish rejections.

She had loved him. She had loved him!

How many chances did an ordinary man have

To dance in the arms of a goddess?

Lie in the arms of an angel?

Live in the love of a woman?

If possible, he would challenge himself to a duel

Turn and fire at sun's rising

And obliterate the fool that had ruined his life!

The fool of fools, himself, the King of Fools

Now too sick of lost love to drag himself from bed.

His friends tried to cheer him

But he knew what they secretly thought

He read it in their eyes

As he had read the envy and desire

They could scarcely contain each time they had seen her.

They wanted her like starving men crave food

And he had had her!

He had tasted what few men would ever dare to dream:

The feel of her, the sight of her, the feast of her

Wholly devoted to him and him alone.

Now, she was gone

Gone like the clouds that drift across the sun

And in moments, are blown away

By the gust of a wind

And the sigh of a lonely sky.

Rubbing his hands over his eyes

He tried to prevent the tears that sprang forth

And covered his face like a school boy's

After a reprimanding, but this reprimanding

Came from his own soul and was greatly needed.

Forgiveness is always hard to give

Especially when it is yourself you must forgive

But knowing her soft and gentle heart,

She would probably forgive him and come running back

But he dared not send word. It had been too long now.

Surely, some fortunate and intelligent man had found her,

Swept her off her feet and fallen for her as deeply as had he

Perhaps he had persuaded her to marry him, run away with him.

Turned her broken heart into a virtual vessel of Paradise

And carried her away to a perpetual Garden of Eden.

She deserved it. My God, she deserved it!

She deserved the world on a golden platter

And all he had given her was broken promises and excuses,

Kisses in the dark and early morning escapes

Always turning back to see her sadly watching him.

Standing in that doorway in the rising dawn

Wanting him to turn around,

Wanting him to love her like she loved him,

Wanting him to stay but remaining ever silent

As he walked away.

©by Voo Shining Stone

12/30/2020