I'Ve Got To Go

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go
(the reasons why you’ll never know),
whisked away in winter’s winds, your sleeping sighs remind me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

Well, I’ve often made my way
within the dark before the day,
but it’s never that I’ve ever felt this lonely.
So I leave this parting note,
the first farewell I ever wrote,
though these lines embody more than farewell only.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go,
’n what I’ll find you’ll never know,
concealed in clouds of untamed clover, tussled hair reminds me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

Alas, my love has grown too strong
for I’ve lain with you so long
with your every need perceived, though never spoken.
’n as I try to disengage,
I’m like a tiger in a cage,
hesitating ’fore a padlock hanging broken.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go
(across a bridge you’ll never know),
to quench abandoned burning hills, your yearning lips remind me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

Should you wake and shed a tear
finding me no longer here,
save your weeping for another, not so ghostly.
’n if you scan the spangled sky,
as you ache when asking why,
realize ’twas really you I wanted mostly.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go
(reshuffling cards you’ll never know),
defying fate beneath the stars, your diamond eyes remind me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

Shun the shadows in the late
disappearing through your gate,
aghast and groping through their early morning sorrows,
like the echoes of my thought,
flitting, fleeting, overwrought,
as reflected in the realms of vague tomorrows.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go
(’n what I’ll see you’ll never know),
pursuing pebbles on a beach, your freckled nose reminds me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

Should you glimpse a troubled form
within a restless ruby storm,
turn your collar 'gainst the wind and never follow.
For by then it’s much too late
(yes the distance far too great)
and you’d only find the feathers of a swallow.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go
(along a road you’ll never know),
adrift on half-forbidden paths, your slender back reminds me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

Should you yearn once more to tease,
unleash your breath upon a breeze
’n let the whispered winds of yesterday caress me,
and perchance recall the time
(when our love was in its prime),
I relied upon your laughter to possess me.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go
(’n it’s so hard you’ll never know),
entwined in twirls of fortune’s wheel, embracing arms remind me. 
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

Once I was yours and you were mine
sipping pearls of purple wine –
except these haunting hints, there’ll be no spectres chasing.
’n if the flashbacks grow acute,
I’ll strum the strings upon my lute
subduing bygone ancient ghosts, still standing, facing.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go,
’n what I’ll hear you’ll never know,
though echoed in a thousand drums, your throbbing breasts remind me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

Well, the candle by my side
has now melted down and died,
though its fire blazes on within the mirror.
And the clock behind the door
is throbbing, pounding with a roar,
as my moment to depart approaches nearer.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go
(along a shore you’ll never know),
engulfed in deep and distant tides, your restless thighs remind me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

But I’ll take along the ring,
the one you carved for me in spring,
though it journeyed as an orphan on my finger. 
And I’ll hang it from my neck
while I tramp a lonesome trek,
as a keepsake of your ardor, while it lingers.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go
(’n what I’ll see you’ll never know),
immersed in fields of flowers wild, your amber eyes remind me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
phantom memories a’ chasing close behind me.

Now I’ll kiss your sleeping eyes
ere I mount the blushing skies
as I bid farewell, adieu, in morning’s splendour. 
Then I’ll fade within the haze,
immured in miles of my own maze
as I wander, breaking chains of love’s surrender.

I’m on my way, I’ve got to go,
’n when I rue you’ll never know
the pulsing passions of the past and shadows that remind me.
And I’ll ramble where I please,
sometimes slipping to my knees,
till the phantoms start a’ fading far behind me.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2013

Poem

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12
Hendricks Avatar
July 27, 2013 at 2:57 PM
Revisiting this gem. Well-crafted, Terry. I bow to your eloquence. Licia :-)
Horne Avatar
June 21, 2013 at 1:13 PM
love this one, Terry - always a pleasure to read your poems
Scott Avatar
June 13, 2013 at 11:23 AM
WELL VERY EPIC LOTS OF INSIGHT LIKE THE RHYME HERE AND YOU KNOW WORDS I USED A LOT IN SHADOW OF A DOUBT POEM THANKS FOR COMENTS ON MINE DAVIDSCOTT
Iqbal Avatar
June 10, 2013 at 1:18 PM
wow...............
Chircop Avatar
June 10, 2013 at 12:37 AM
Rereading this beautiful poem of love and its lingering pain
Hamilton Avatar
May 29, 2013 at 1:44 PM
Terry I absolutely love this a definite 7 Linda
Carrillo Avatar
May 10, 2013 at 10:20 AM
This is a wonderful poem you have written. I enjoyed reading it. Thanks for sharing........ Lucilla
Hicks Avatar
May 6, 2013 at 11:30 PM
This is amazing. Wow! I'm in awe at how well you wrote this extremely long poem. The details and repetition added so much weight to this poem. It was a long read, but well worth the ride... you definitely know how to put the reader in the author's shoes!
Wesley Avatar
April 15, 2013 at 7:36 PM
All of your poems are worth reading half a dozen times or more. Such wonderful stories in impeccable rhyme.
Posey Avatar
April 14, 2013 at 6:42 PM
Terry, a thousand years will not dim the brilliance of this poem... I am almost without words to express my respect for your talent..... Jake
Manassian Avatar
April 2, 2013 at 2:48 AM
I traveled with you down every path...WOW! Such images...such intensity of thought and wonderful rhythm and rhyme. You are an amazing writer!
Hendricks Avatar
March 24, 2013 at 3:43 PM
A very enjoyable read, Terry. I'm absolutely gaga over your impeccable rhyming. This is good poetry, my friend. I like :)
Wesley Avatar
March 7, 2013 at 9:33 AM
I always feel as though I have gorged on the best available when I come to read. Magnificently told and disturbs my inner being. Love, Elizabeth
Chircop Avatar
March 7, 2013 at 4:35 AM
Sipping pearls of purple wine..Wow nice verse...and when i ache you ll never know..profound ending to a wonderful poem
Dietrich Avatar
March 4, 2013 at 11:35 PM
Very good work from you. Your poem are so much like ballads. Even when they are not called ballad. You have a great lyrical touch!
Beaufort Avatar
February 17, 2013 at 4:40 PM
Terry, this has the flavor of times gone by. I did very much enjoy the path down your lover's body. Very well engineered. Each comparison was nicely written. You handled the challenge very well. I also like the thought of amber eyes. I haven't seen them very often--only rarely. Come to think of it, there are so many variations of eye color and hair.
Mac Donald Avatar
February 16, 2013 at 8:27 PM
Oie, lots of passion and emotion happening here, Terry. Great rhyme scheme, still it feels so very sad. Now I feel depressed...duh S'like you are leaving someone and this departure is ripping you apart. I might be wrong, cause I'm capital at making mistakes. Keep well, Mikki
Williams Avatar
February 15, 2013 at 1:53 PM
Terry just back for a re-read of this stunning gem, have a great weekend...David
Jerden Avatar
February 15, 2013 at 12:48 PM
Terry, this is just lovely, perfect rhythm and rhyme and of the length I prefer. My only suggestion might be to consider combining lines 1&2 and lines 4&5 in each stanza into a single line with an internal rhyme as you have done in other poems with this meter. It might flow better. I just love this poem. Cheers, Roy
Poet Avatar
February 15, 2013 at 9:43 AM
Just amazing Terry!Great poetry by you!
Kendrick Avatar
February 14, 2013 at 2:02 PM
Very emotive and expressive work about love gone sour..Enjoyed reading this afternoon..Thanks for stopping by..Sara
Horne Avatar
February 14, 2013 at 1:33 PM
awesome write here, Terry - loved every line
Horsman Avatar
February 14, 2013 at 5:54 AM
you are a wondrous prolific writer of wonderful poetry Terry...and this is no exception...
Andresen Avatar
February 14, 2013 at 4:11 AM
Wooow a fantastic write! - Enjoyed reading it Terry. - Have a wonderful day. - oxox / / Anne-Lise :)
Collins Avatar
February 13, 2013 at 6:33 AM
Terry - Soup Mail
12
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