You Were There

Elizabeth ‘Lizziegh’ Enos

 

You were there
when time stopped.

And I held you in my arms,
gazing into deep pools of black tea,
my light, my reason for fighting – for being,
fading, as though clouds rushed in
covering my sun
hearing the beats of your heart
counting away the precious seconds
slowly,
as though someone forgot to wind it

and then,
it stopped.

Tea-colored eyes
cooled and solidified
and the light was gone
the warmth stole from your body
and mine froze with yours.
You were gone.

How long did we sit there
among the torn and broken bodies
on that blood-soaked, war-ravaged ground?
How long did I sit alone
holding what remained of you?
Hands still laid over the gash in your chest
the horrid wound
I gave you.

There were no more seconds left to count
but if I moved, I would shatter.

And I missed you
instantly,
terribly,
painfully,
infinitely.

Time stood still
even as it rushed forward
off into the distance
to the future –
a concept now devoid of meaning –