Joy Dims
•
scarring my soul
memory cuts deep
with unbearable pain
joy dims
in this sunset of passion
as my spirit darkens
here then gone
love’s fading apparition
now sorrow’s afterimage
• • •
rob kistner © 2009
…inspired by a prompt at Saturday Scribes
Rob,
Your poem, very much like flickering embers . . .
sad and reflective . . . is beautiful.
there’s a lot of meaning in this short poem — it’s true that love can fade like an apparition, but sadness too becomes an afterimage. “Afterimage” is a great word: in the eye the afterimage fades, but you can brighten it momentarily with an intentional twitch, but less and less each time. so too with memories; we scratch at them like old wounds, but eventually they’re only the memory of a memory, with less and less power. i love the ability of choosing the exact right word to carry so much meaning — to me that’s what poetry is about.