If Only
Clodagh Delahunty-Forrest
A ferocious flame
Secretly bubbles away
Amber embers melting
Into charcoal decay
The warmth disappears
Into smokes of grey
Dissolving into the sharp features
Of your sculptured face of clay
Grief makes you timid,
Deathly pale, bedridden
Stinging: your eyes
Burn with tears forbidden
Your emotions, precious jewels
Locked away, hidden
In a treasure chest, thoughts
Of freedom remain unbidden
Chiselled and raw
A heart of a cold stone
Masked by the deep
Musk scent of your cologne
Diminishes feelings
never to be shown
Unable to be shared
Forever alone
In your eyes I see
A dying flare
It disappears making me
Doubt it was ever there
Replaced by a blank
Dangerous glare
If only you had
The courage to care