No Reprieve

he fakes a braver face
although the tears are real
he never learned to make
his eyes express emotions
much beyond the stirrings
in his heart

you are bereaved, he said
sudden loss of someone’s
love is death – it seems
there is no mortal way
to fill the void of utter
aching loneliness

there is no meaning left
for what the future brings
the past is all that keeps
your sanity intact, where
memories sustain
a sense of real

your love has gone
and left you dead, you
grieve for magic that you
had in arms of love received
a pain one cannot bear
without reprieve
© 21 December 2008, I. D. Carswell