Words… Fail

No, it’s not the words, it’s me, failing them.
For a moment, lost to me; not in their
Familiar places, on my private shelves
Floating along the edges of the page.

They’re still out there, clear as Borges “saw” them
In his blindness, reforming in new tales
His infinite library with every story
Ever imagined forever preserved.

The heart still sings ― at the sight of you ― with
Misplaced lyrics floating about the edge
Humming along to the beloved tune;
Straining for the words to your melody.

Where have they flown? Those words at my finger
Tips just yesterday and the month before,
Easily plucked from the ether of my
Mind, drifting about on powerful tides.

Forgotten, forgotten, forgotten words
Tripping away before my searching eyes
Just out of grasp; just out of reach; just out
Of the pictures within my faltering…

But there you are, still ever beautiful
Still ever you, the one I love more than
Life itself; more than my words could ever
Fully capture on a page of phrases.

Out there, the wonderful essence of you
Forever more elusive than a rainbow,
A trick of the light amongst the water
That drops from the heavens in a clear sky.

Though the words may often elude me, know
They are here inside my glance at you from
Across the room, from across the spaces
Of forgotten words, forgotten phrases.

They hide in the hand in your hand, in the
Touch, the embrace connecting us without
The forgotten, insufficient bygone words.
I fail them for the not finding, faltering…

October 2023. Clark DesSoye