Since you have gone
my world is shattered like a pool
tormented by stones. In every place
I wear a thread-bare coat
of loneliness and underneath
the mid-day sun I shiver
inwardly. At night the moon
grows cold, the stars malicious.

Since you have gone
I scan in vain the endless
crowd seeking your face
and daily haunt the places
where I shared your company.
Distance is meaningless
for no step brings me nearer you
or further from you. Time’s
mechanism jammed, each hour
hangs like a heavy cog
around my neck.

Since you have gone
I cannot quiet the restless
harbour of my heart. My hands
hang helpless by my side
nor can they wind the clock
of days to your arrival.
All things stand sombre;
frozen in the still grey
light of evening,
And even in these lines
something is missing.

– John Paisley