You Were Never Here

Shhhh.
You were never here,
here in this place of shadows
and light

just out of reach, here
where night falls
and hides every flaw.
Or so you think.

No,
your life is perfect,
a snapshot from 1955,
all smiles and fresh baked cookies

ignoring the walls
with their fresh paint and rot
that only happens to other people.

Don’t worry. I won’t tell.
Who am I that lives
in the dark spaces of pain and loss?
No one.

Your secrets are safe with me.
I know the pain of exposure,
the struggle of confession,
the horror of healing

that is never complete,
and never ending.

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The photograph was taken yesterday just outside Argyle, NY. I think it my favorite picture that I have taken for some time, and I knew as soon as I saw it there was a poem in the picture. I thought on it late into the night, and after meditation this morning, the poem flowed like dark honey on to the page.

If you want to see a larger version, you can click on the picture.

Tom