You always keep me company When everyone has gone. I speak to you at midnight Until the dark gives way to dawn. Once, I knew a girl With stillness in her eyes. She’d sit beside the window And watch the moon climb high. She dreamed of distant kingdoms Beyond the hills and stone, Of roses scaling castle walls And gardens of her own. She’d fold her dreams to paper boats And leave them by the door. She’d swear she’d sail away someday— She does not say that anymore. I almost wrote a letter And sealed it with a kiss, But every word grew cold beneath my hand, Like a vow the years had missed. So I spoke of the girl instead, The one I used to be— Who thought the world was wide enough To make a home for me. There were friends I knew Before the years grew cold: Summer nights and secret paths, And stories never told. Their faces hang like portraits In the gallery of my mind; Their voices fade like distant bells Beyond the farthest pines. I spoke of tomorrow, And all that I might do— Of roads beyond the evergreen, And skies of morning blue. Yet every road seemed farther The longer I remained; The heart may dream of leaving And still be bound by pain. The seasons crossed my window Like travellers passing through. Spring threaded green through branches; Autumn loosened every hue. When night grew colder, I drew myself to you. Your little flame leaned close to mine, And made the darkness two. Tonight I gave you everything I’d buried deep within— The dreams beneath the ashes, The wars I could not win. I spoke of the one I loved Before she lost her way: The one who wore a crown of hope And dreamed beyond the grey. I spoke until my voice grew faint. The candle bowed its head. My fingers found the little cup; The wax was pooled and dead. I watched the light grow narrow, Its trembling circle shrink, Until it laid my face upon the wall— A stranger at the brink. The warmth I borrowed from its flame Was only heat it spent. Each breath of light grew smaller As darkness gathered what it lent. I reached across the empty space And found the chair still bare. No shadow waited opposite; Only moonlight crossed the seat. Dawn came pale across the room. The curtains stirred like sails. I found my unfinished letter Beside the candle’s trails. The wick was black, the wax was cold; Its little sun had gone. I could not tell if I had lost The girl—or only dawn. I miss the one with quiet eyes. I wonder where she’s gone. I folded up the letter And watched the morning yawn. I sat beside the empty chair And listened as the silence grew— Learning how a borrowed flame Can make a vacant room feel new.
