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Absence

An evocative love poem by Lipsa, portraying yearning for the loved one, exclusively for Different Truths.

You can’t miss somebody you’ve never had
Still your absence takes a toll on my fragile being
Love is a joyful feeling for her who loves
Yet, the overwhelming desire to possess the beloved
Takes a heavy toll on my fragile being
Every waking moment it gnaws on my insides:
Why aren’t you here?
Your image in my mind’s eye consumes it wholly
No room for people, thoughts, anything at all.
Since I can’t have you the way I want to have you
I retreat into a tiny shell and lie curled there
Waiting, desiring, hoping, waiting and desiring
A knock on the dilapidated door
Footsteps on dead grass
Echoes of your voice in dying air
Your figure in incessant rain
And the bright blue of your eyes
Overspreading on the mourning sky.

Your fear of abandonment shuts me out
Desire burns in the cold flames of memory
Your heart is wrung, you can’t stop wringing
April knocks on your bolted door
You wrap winter tighter, sleep on the cold floor

If only I had you as my own
If only they turned true,
the dreams you’ve shown
If only all I had for view
Were your piercing eyes bright blue
Maybe I’d open my heart to April’s blossoms
Maybe, then, I’d see the grass lush as ever
Maybe, then, I’d remove the shroud of winter
And lie curled in the warmth of your arms.

Leave the crumbling cottage of your loneliness
Allow your feet to walk through agony and ecstasy
Hush the chatter in the caverns of your mind
You’ll find my echoes consuming the whole of your being
Wipe away your tears
And look up at me.

Photo from the Internet

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Lipsa Giri
Lipsa Giri is a 25-year-old Post Graduate in English Literature, from Baripada, Odisha. Her maiden poetry collection – which was awarded Philosophique Poetica’s “Emerging Golden Voices” award – is titled, Love and Longing. It is a collection of confessional poems mostly on the theme of love and a desperate yearning for something unattainable for the poet. Some of her interests are books, belly dancing, crochet, crafts and writing.
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