Poetry of Shadows

Shades of the past are hard to move on from.

The bench faces west,
         presiding over the jogging path, the sand,
                   and the great, azure Pacific Ocean beyond.

I sit where I always do,
         and she sits where she used to,
                   all those years ago.

Joggers pass.
         A woman pushes a double stroller
                   containing a toddler and her older sibling
                             who’s definitely old enough to walk on his own.

No one glances at the two of us.
         Not at me, and certainly not at her.
                   I’m the only one who remembers her anymore.

I could stand, or walk amidst the foot traffic on the jogging path,
         I could feel the warmth of the sand on my bare feet.
                   I could step into the surf and feel the brisk ocean water.

But I don’t.
         The sun doesn’t reach her anymore.

---

Line Count: 18

Form: Free Verse

Prompt: Please write a story or poem that has the title: "Poetry of Shadows." Please select "Mystery" as one of your genres.

Written for: "The Writer's Cramp"