Repressed Desire

An errant breeze blew hair across my cheek and suddenly my tears flowed as I recalled how we once loved. A love which I still seek. Is it my heart or my vanity that is appalled? How I've struggled to repress a fervent desire to call or text him each time my heart cried. Those embers I dare not rekindle into a fire, and though I sigh, my passion must be denied. I can't bear to look upon the moon or the stars for without him near I find them disenchanting. I'm a firefly with broken wings, like those in jars whose light has dimmed, vulnerable and panting. I fill lonely nights writing poems about a fantasy of lost love that ends with a line of biting satire that for me is both, a bitter tragedy and a travesty. Once more I'm under duress to repress my desire. My frail emotions refuse to be buried or hidden. Each time they enter my thoughts, I'm depressed for they're trapped inside me and return unbidden as I lie awake with memories of being caressed. I've been left alone on the shore of Paradise Lost, wanting to rekindle a fire that's burned to ash. But I'll not grovel or entreat for love at any cost. I'll stifle heartache when desire and pride clash. * * * September 15, 2022 Pick-A-Title, Vol 32 Contest Sponsored by Edward Ibeh