From My Shroud of Darkness

A hardened heart and dimmed light briefly return to life in a loving, but momentary love.

I was dead inside.
My candle snuffed out,
My internal light dimmed.
Where was once a hopeful heart,
The darkness now shrouds me,
The rock in my chest my tombstone.

No one saw my light —
Invisibility my superpower.
No one felt my heart —
It petrified in the ashes
Of dreams that once burned white hot.

From the cold safety of my tomb,
I looked into your eyes for the first time.
The tiny remaining ember began to glow,
But died as quickly as it shone —
Your flame lit another candle.

The world turned on,
And so did the smolder
Of that solitary ember,
Reminding me I was once alive.

Caught glances across a room,
Subtle touches and shared laughs
Turned to deeper talks, longer gazes
And tighter, closer embraces.

Like the mirage of water in a desert,
This simply cannot be.
Surely my mind created this flame,
Attempting to restore my spirit.

But it is only a dream — and a cruel one.
Yet the ember burns on.
I must remain in the safety of my darkness,
Bound to reality by the rock in my chest.

Then one day the earth stopped turning.
Time stood still.
For a few fleeting seconds
I had no hands or feet — only spirit.

Butterflies in my stomach,
Fireflies lit the night.
Gentle and sweet your kiss on my cheek
Shattered the darkness.

But was it only another mirage?
Another creation of my mind
Trying to survive
And bring me back to life.

Once again, I looked into your eyes,
Deeply looking into mine,
And you saw me.
You saw my spirit.

And you kissed me.

The flame I knew would never burn again
Raged within me, dispelling the darkness,
Transforming the rock in my chest to flesh,
It's rapid rhythm purging me from the shroud of darkness.

We both know this is finite,
Limited to a small scope and scale.
The day will come when I grieve
And the light will dim again.

But you — your brilliant light,
Your radiant spirit —
And the chance to spend the shortest time with you —
Are more than worth the inevitable sadness.

The memories of the love we made
And the fire lighting the night
Will bring a smile to my face
And warm my soul in the shroud of darkness.