This is a poem written for you a while back — one I have no intentions of sending to you now. I did once, but you were so preoccupied with something else, I doubt you retained a single word of it. Over the months I had edited and refined it, making numerous improvements in hopes that maybe I’ll have another opportunity, but have since moved on under the realization that I need to sail away from this shore in pursuit of a welcoming harbor. In fact, I see one on my map right now and have planned a course for that direction.

And since I am a writer, I did not want it to lie buried. I recently rediscovered it as I was going through some old files. Consider this the release point: the final departure from the old dock of longing as I officially leave everything else on the old world behind me.

I had poured all my passion into this piece, only to have you practically ignore it when I had first presented it to you. I had done all that is wrapped within the folds of this rhetoric, including the fighting and pursuit with nothing to show for it because it is not what you wanted and I wasn’t about to try pushing concrete after it sets. Even though the feelings and sentiments projected are no longer accurate or even existent, it is still among my favorites, from an artistic point of view, and so I wish to share it with others here.

To the others who may read this “letter” (not really sure what to call this whole submission haha), hope you enjoy it! I’ve titled it “Embers”

~Enjay

Can you feel the embers burning right beneath the skin;
Spreading warmth through every vein to soothe the pain within?
Giving in, I’ve listened to my pounding heart again –
It says, “Pursue her, unless you want this fairy tale to end.”

I contend with this fear that says I can’t pay the cost!
You will find me standing here, fighting back for what I lost.
I have tossed off these chains that once bound me to the ground;
Soaring high above my prison as the fire burns it down.

I hear the sound of your song as it’s carried on the breeze.
I feel your gentle spirit like wind drifting through the trees.
Memories of your smile consume my mind like autumn leaves
And the depth of your heart surpasses that of all the seas.

My heart grieves for the warmth your soul gave me in the cold
And the story we could write as we watch our love unfold.
Now I hold to the hope that these embers will still burn;
Rekindled by your spirit in the wake of your return.