Once

Once
A time not long ago
I loved you,
A beau­ti­ful soul
Wreathed in a lagoon of stars,
Embell­ished with radi­ant heart

A splen­did love’s promise,
Danc­ing towards tomorrow.

Once,
I knew you
The real you

Now those days seem boiled away,
The end­less waters of memory
Wrapped in a cir­clet of gold,
Laid to rest on the dusty planks

That soul I thought I knew, came undone
Dis­ap­peared, enig­mat­ic as the desert sands

And as I looked o’er my shoulder
A gaze as gold­en as the wheat-stalks
From all our yes­ter­days’ summers
A wink of set­ting sun

But the glint I saw was a reflection
From the hate­ful embers of loss

Once
A soul I shared
In viva­cious mystery
An oasis for secret hopes
Inspir­ing me to dream

I stand alone now,
But I knew you once

Once

It gives me warmth
To glance back and see

What we did,
And gave

Wings to the beloved,
New life to one so tiny,
Foun­da­tion to the lost,
Love to the abandoned

Eyes of turquoise ocean
Eyes of har­vest gold

Sis­ters in arms

The end­less trea­sures we knew,
Only deep­est seas could speak of

I knew you once

You taught me courage.