The End Of The Cycle

We’ve made it to the thirtieth entry in this series of song-inspired poems! That definitely feels like an achievement, although the tone of this week’s poem does clash a little with that – it’s definitely one of the slower, ‘quieter’ poems, I think, but I hope that it creates a scene that you find interesting to read! It was inspired by ‘Only Time Will Tell’ by Asia, which I’ve embedded below as per usual so that you can listen to it while you read the poem, if you like!

First Poem In This Series: To Witness, To Behold, inspired by ‘Sowing The Seeds Of Love’ by Tears For Fears

Previous Poem In This Series: Starlit Wishes, inspired by ‘Take Me With You’ by Neck Deep

The End Of The Cycle

Waking to a cold stretch of linen
is the first breath of return,
the cycle shuddering and waking:
eyes opening before the alarm,
an arm reaching out, fingers finding
nothing, just as intended.

Perhaps there is a text;
perhaps there is a note,
scrawled in stuttering biro
as if the physical creation
emphasises the sentiment.

The cycle is always testing
its little sparks of ingenuity.

It is difficult, yet familiar,
to ease into the motions:
to become upright, to move
and leave the crypt behind;
until next time, it is little more
than a memorial.

These are the moments to sit,
to breathe, to linger
on the sidelines, knowing
there are so many moving parts,
and the cycle is focused
on a world beyond these four walls.

Just as dawn breaks, beyond
shuttered windows, there is a hum;
barely audible, barely perceptible,
but it is enough. It is proof.

Aching eyes close, and the cycle
casts its gaze back, within
the abandoned walls; absence
remains absence, for one long,
drawn out moment–the echo
of impossible words on eyelids–
before… return.

The walls seem to shift,
ever so slightly;
light spills
through open windows,
the brightening navy
and warring orange of day:
once again, it begins.

And for a small part,
the sting of heartbreak
is wiped, to remove
the apprehension of absence,
so that every shard can be felt anew;
but the ghost, ever so faint,
of the previous cycle, and all before,
remains.

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