The Other Half of the Woods
The Other Half of the Woods
Walking through a wooded glen
I came across a glade
And in that glade I found a hut
Where lived an old, old maid
“Hello,” I said, “May I come in?”
My hand still on the door
She looked at me with softened eyes
That soon fell to the floor.
The dusty table, set for two
Had nothing on the plates
And in-between them, tears of wax
Long-hardened in their place
“I knew one day you’d find me here;
The decades were so long.
But since Day One, my heart’s been yours
Here waiting all along.”
“I think you’ve me, mistaken, Miss,
We’ve never met before.
With due respect, I’m much too young
To’ve been yours to adore.”
Over to a drawer she walked
Where sat a tiny mirror
And when she placed it in my hand
I saw my face appear
A weathered face looked back at me
With wrinkles deep and long
The youth I swore I entered with
Had quickly come and gone
“I’m the one that God had made
to love you all your life
To be your rock when times were hard
Your soulmate, and your wife.
Instead you searched for other things
That weren’t as deep as love
Defined success in empty ways
Than that sent from above
But darling, now our time is up;
We’ve only minutes left;
If only you had looked for me
Than wand’ring life bereft
for all the things to fill the void
When found life’s meaning lost
It breaks my heart you went your life
Still searching at such cost.”
- A. J. Darkholme (April 2015)