The Poems of Lucy Snowe

I AM THE GIRL WITH EMPTY HANDS

I will let go of my love.

I do not need it to survive.

It does my spirit mortal harm

And turns my soul into a desert.

I will not suffer anymore

Nor mourn the loss of what has never been.

The actualization of joy is a rare thing

And standing in the shadows the more certain fate.

I am happy for you, my friend.

It is my duty but I am sincere.

The world will fall at your feet like the woman you love,

And I will watch, the girl with the empty hands.

It has been thus all along

And it is easy to hide when one is always alone.

But even though I did not build a boat

Somehow I am left standing after the flood tide.

I will still breathe.

The heart within me will beat again.

Even the darkest hour must end at last,

And already I have lived to tell the tale.

I will let life come at me once more,

And open wide my arms to receive it.

And even now I will find each small happiness

While I wait a while in this useless passion.

June 2017