Soul Deserted

                                                 (Image from: Mobileadvertisingwatch.com)

It was the roots
and the flowers
It was the leaves
and the branches

Everything was considered
proved wanting and wanted
It was love
It was hate
It was joy
It was late

A quarter of a century's
worth of waiting
not knowing it was all
that was needed

The seasons don't matter
We only knew sun and rain
We were happiest
when we had nothing
Loving from a distance
Cold at night
Warm in the thought
Summer when we talked
Balmy beaches, cold drinks
In hand, affection in the heart

You departed
I stayed
You have learned bitterness
Shouting out to everyone
How you got manhandled,
mistreated and left out
in the cold

Licking your wounds
in the desert
Where the coyote howls
your pain for you
The rattlesnake hisses revenge
The cactus survives eating sun and sand