You were right there,  

beside me—  

and then,  

you vanished.  

I tried to hold on,  

to keep you from slipping,  

but silence is heavier  

than arms can bear.  

I hear you in echoes,  

I feel you in fragments,  

I see your reflection—  

like water trembling in me.  

I follow the faint trail  

of your guidance,  

hoping for a sign,  

a whisper,  

a flicker of light.  

Or—  

were you ever there?  

Did I depend too much  

on a shadow-

forgetting shadows fade  

when the light shifts?  

Still, I wish you were here.  

Right here.  

Next to me.  

But maybe—  

I’m waking up.