In the Stillness Between
For Gabriel Huizenga’s lost-ish challenge
If I could choose,
it would be no one,
and everyone—
the faces fading softly
like whispers left behind,
the glow of the house dimming
into something quieter,
not quite dark,
but enough to lose your way.
The silence breathes here,
in this space between moments,
where the light feels less steady,
the laughter distant,
a memory you can’t place.
It isn’t lonely, not entirely,
but it hums with a hollow sound,
like a song the stars forgot.
I sit in the stillness,
watching the light shift and waver,
its fragile dance
not quite reaching my hands.
The house is there—
beautiful, delicate—
but just out of reach,
its warmth softened
to a cool ache in the chest.
It’s strange,
this not-quite sadness,
this not-quite joy.
It wraps around me
like an old coat,
threadbare, familiar.
It smells of distant fires,
of things that were almost mine.
I could leave,
but the quiet pulls me closer.
I linger in the in-between,
where the melancholy feels
like home for now.
Not lost,
not found,
but here—
waiting for the next moment
to begin.
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About the Creator
Diane Foster
I’m a professional writer, proofreader, and all-round online entrepreneur, UK. I’m married to a rock star who had his long-awaited liver transplant in August 2025.
When not working, you’ll find me with a glass of wine, immersed in poetry.
Keep reading
More stories from Diane Foster and writers in Poets and other communities.
Comments (16)
Awesome
"a memory you can’t place. It isn’t lonely, not entirely, but it hums with a hollow sound, like a song the stars forgot." Diane, this part really spoke to me. So eloquent, so personal, so so beautiful. Congratulations on winning Gabriel's Challenge!
This is such a lovely reflection, Diane. You really capture all the senses and feelings of the still moments. Congrats on first place in Gabriel's challenge! 🎉
This is beautiful! Congratulations!
Oh, this is gorgeous. Congrats, Diane.
This flowed so beautifully and really honed in on that lost-ish moment, the contrasting emotions and the images that float in and out! Congratulations on winning Gabriel’s challenge!
A beautiful work. Congratulations!
Well deserved first place in the challenge 🤩✅.
The stand-out line in a poem filled with them is The silence breathes here. The sense of disorientation is palpable. Wonderful writing! Congratulations on winning the challenge! Richly deserved!
Beautiful...especially loved: "like a song the stars forgot."
waiting for the next moment
A well-wrought take on that liminal space between events that tends to breed the very melancholy Gabriel indicated!
This poem is so poignant… I really like: “ It smells of distant fires, of things that were almost mine. I could leave, but the quiet pulls me closer. I linger in the in-between, where the melancholy feels like home for now.”💖
Lovely, especially like the line "like a song the stars forgot."
I really like the way this captures that feeling of being in between—like you're not lost, but not fully found either. It’s a quiet, reflective piece with a lot of heart.
This is rich, wonderful work Diane - perfectly taps into the hard-to-place feelings that I was hoping folks would be able to relate to. Thank you for sharing this gorgeous piece for the challenge! :)