Village Verses

THE BURDEN

When a rare winter moon

Pushes through the night clouds

To present its plush peach self in full,

When the blooming spring daisy field beseeches me

To take a gentle roll through its ranks,

When an iridescent harmony sounds,

Charging through summer’s air like unfamiliar lightning,

I remember

That you long ago slipped away,

And that these earth-bound beauties

Are no longer

Mine to share with you.

Most cruel, forcing me

To bear alone the burden of excruciating loveliness

Without your singular expression

Of the nature of things,

The sole option

Straining to hear

Your words in their enlightened you-ness

© 2023, 2025 Susan M. Silver

Previously published in Breath & Shadow literary journal, Winter, 2023.