tremble // poetry

i remember that night the storm blew in;
every moment etched into my mind 
as vivid as the lightning that split the sky. 
there was thunder in my chest, 
invisible fingers in my hair as 
the ground quavered with the 
voice of the storm, and yet, 
even as the earth shook 
before the fury of the gale, 
i did not tremble.

i have never feared the storms,
for i have loved the aching wind and 
wild beauty too much to fear the lightning.
with your hand in mine
i could face the death of all we know,
the end of every beginning,
the ache of every goodbye and
i would stand tall. 

it is the pang of absence that 
cuts me deepest, the emptiness
between my fingers where yours
should be, and still, after all this time
how can you not understand
why someone who smiles at the
incoming storm and laughs into the wind
trembles when you walk away? 

[m.a.l.]