CONTEMPLATION

 

ROBERT MARGETTS

CONTEMPLATION

A quill without ink

cannot whisper like Shakespeare,

just as a Waterford goblet

shattered on cold Byzantine tile

can never cradle roses again.

A Gibson missing strings

tells no story to a waiting room,

and a Steinway stripped of its keys

cannot summon a single waltz.

A Stradivarius with a broken bow

is a candle without a flame,

and a soul without a heart

beats for no one

not even you.

You didn’t just break my heart.

You ground it down,

the way the Waterford flute

splintered into a million shards

of expensive, useless glass.

The thorns on the rose stem

cut my fingers to the bone,

slicing through me

like the butcher’s blade

at the corner market.

More blood has been spilled

from a thorn than from a sword,

and more wounds

carved into the hands

of the boy you once swore to love.

You hurt my soul

so deeply that even my quill dried up,

even my Baby Taylor forgot how to sing.

You stole the last of me

and left the rest in ruins.

You touched my bloodied hand,

kissed my trembling mouth,

looked into my eyes

as if you still knew me,

and brushed your fingers

through my tangled gray hair

like it meant something.

You touched my lips a thousand times,

parted them gently,

fed me wine as if mercy

could be poured from a bottle.

We shared one final drink,

a few thin moments

nothing strong enough

to drown the ache you left behind.

The Stradivarius fell silent,

and the candle shivered

through its last breath of light.

Goodbye, my lover.

The Rubicon waits,

and I must cross it alone.

No music.

No light.

No ink left to write your name again.