The Hours That Will Not Die
A Villanelle of Endless Regret
I walk again beneath the ashen sky
The years return like ghosts that will not go
And every step recalls a long goodbye
There was a time when hope could not belie
The face that burned where gentler fires glow
I walk again beneath the ashen sky
I swore to still the ache but memory is sly
It finds the wound beneath the frost and snow
And every step recalls a long goodbye
Regret becomes the breath by which I sigh
And silence bears the weight I cannot show
And every step recalls a long goodbye
No prayer can still the pulse that asks me why
No dawn can pale the dusk I used to know
I walk again beneath the ashen sky
And every step recalls a long goodbye
About the Creator
Tim Carmichael
Tim is an Appalachian poet and cookbook author. He writes about rural life, family, and the places he grew up around. His poetry and essays have appeared in Bloodroot and Coal Dust, his latest book.
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Comments (4)
When words work well together. They glow every time they are repeated. And that's what my experience was with this line. 'i walk again beneath the ashen sky' I love that the years are personified. But personified as dead using a ghost. Something that haunts. As English speakers. We ought to be glad for the word, 'belie' lol 👌🏾 Memory really is sly. In my experience, way too sly. 'Every step recalls a long goodbye' All of a sudden this line was strengthened. When I recalled my own experience. 'Silence bears the weight I cannot show' 🤯 YASS! Outstanding work Tim. This was so emotional to read. So beautiful and the rhythm was absolutely fantastic 🤗❤️🖤👏🏾👌🏾
Excellent! Beautifully written.
This aches and stirs emotions. I felt that grip of time and the inevitably of life running out. It's almost like the question to Thomas's Do not go gently... If that makes sense? Wonderful work, Tim
Beautifully written, the ache of time's ultimate control, that none of us can challenge, is conveyed perfectly here.