Poetry

Forever Alone

by

Claire Casey

Through the impenetrable darkness,
music guides my steps,
like my mother should have.
The emptiness of a loveless childhood,
of an unacceptable life,
has become etched
on the living stone of my heart,
only to be removed by true love.

A love that I long for and need,
but which never seems to come.
Who could bring themselves
to love a ghost who is
haunted by a darkened past;
a man whose life is no more than shadow?

I have seen a world that many
only dream to witness,
but only ever from the fringes,
seeing but forever unseen.

People have come to fear the mask
which hides the pain and insecurities
of a lifetime;
a mask to protect the child in me,
a child who still cries for
the love of a mother
but who is forever denied,
forever alone.