A Turn of Tides

Suffering is a river wide,

never meant for one alone.

It drifts and sways from side to side,

today it’s mine, tomorrow—your own.

You cheered when I stood tall and grand,

my hands outstretched, my pockets deep.

Now fallen, crushed beneath the sand,

your silence cuts, your laughter seeps.

I gave when giving was my song,

a melody both bright and free.

Now I am ruined, weak, and wrong,

for lacking what you seek from me.

I won’t return to swallowed pain,

nor feast on what I once let go.

The past is past; I won’t remain

where love dissolves like melting snow.

Love is light with hidden scars,

it warms, it blinds, it leaves a stain.

It lifts like wings but drops like stars,

shining bright, then lost in rain.

Today it's me with heavy chains,

my name a whisper in the dust.

But fate is fickle, life remains,

tomorrow bends for you to trust.

I go in peace, though bruised and torn,

my spirit still, my heart resigned.

Let kindness bloom where grief is worn,

let wounds be healed, let love be kind.

And if you see the one who left,

don’t curse her name nor call her wrong.

Just send my greetings, soft, bereft,

and wish her well where she belongs.

©Bunguswa™