Solid ground

By Kim Walters

There is so much I need to say,
but you will never hear it.

It will begin with I am sorry
and end with I will always love you.

I don’t blame you.

It was so furtive, so quiet,
seeping into our composition,
an unnoticed fault line
sudden and abrupt.

Even now, separated by time and distance
and new directions,
it is a shock and a sadness
more pervasive than I can say or see or accede to.
A weight that blocks out hope,
shaken and fearful,
for moments
before swinging back to reveal a flicker of what is viable
in time, with luck
or whatever it takes
to reconstruct a life
punctuated now and then
with a lonely cry of self pity
before resuming the work of believing
in love and hope and the possibility
of landing on solid ground.