THE CLOCKS STOPPED MOVING

Sunshine streams through the window

Blue skies above,

Planes zoom through the scattered clouds

Birds fly to new destinations.

People chatter outside

Animated, their laughter hangs in the air,

Cars roar down the packed roads

Trying to weave through the traffic.

Inside, the clocks stopped moving

The day he left,

Bringing the tea to my lips

It’s cold, like my heart.

Cannot touch his clothes

As I still smell his scent,

It lingers in my soul

Don’t want to forget the smell.

His car is still outside

Mints still in the glove compartment,

Still visualise him popping them into his mouth

One after the other.

Long walks on the beach

Holding each other’s hands,

Not wanting to let go

As the waves crashed against the shore.

Sitting in the bright cafes

Talking to each other,

Sharing doughnuts and fancy cakes

Connecting, living, loving.

Now, it’s all faded away

Just like him,

Turn around in bed

So lost, so empty.

Visiting him where he lives now

It’s hard to bear,

I talk to him

There is no response.

An empty vessel

That’s what he is now,

Blank stares, no idea

Of what’s happened to him.

Every so often

A glimpse of what he used to be,

Then he asks, ‘Who am l?’

My heart tears apart once more.

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