After You

I had created this thing
An ephemeral gauze
Not a veil
Not a masque
Nor even a charade

More a shell

On one side the despised world
But within...
Within was safe
Secure
Strong

Your death came at me
Like a gilded hammer
It's awful beauty shattered my world
And I was exposed

Alone
To dance with my demons
And sing the banshee song
I had become

You were the glue I used
To build my life
The mortar that bound me
To my soul

There is hate here
There is love here

There is fear here
There is joy here

And with this tape and this string
I will build anew this life
These dreams, my hopes

And I will face the onrushing darkness
Proud – and alone