Adam’s Ale
—the old name for water, the first drink, the simplest thirst.
Bougainvillea, thorn-armored bloom,
plankton drifting—algae, crustaceans—
a hidden kingdom in an inland basin,
non-oceanic water breathing its own tides.
I splash my face in the reservoir,
Adam’s ale cooling my skin,
while light bends and scatters—
I am refracted,
a prism made of flesh and ache,
splintering into the many rays of sun.
I sit beneath an arboreal sky,
ceiling woven from foliage and verdure,
cathedral of green where shadows
keep their soft liturgy.
Saudade gnaws the marrow of light,
and my sunlit heart caves inward.
I hunger for your presence,
for the echo of your breath in the leaves.
If the day could linger—
just one more turn of the earth—
I would not ask for forever.
But even plankton drift toward dark,
their glow extinguished in the basin’s hush;
so too my heart, without your light.
Stark emptiness fills my perfume bottle,
The vacuum in my vacuity,
Negligence swills it beyond the dottle,
To leave my mind bare of acuity.
For many days its void of content speaks,
But its endurance keeps my freshness plump,
Compliments make its vast emptiness squeaks,
Yet it exhales resentment from its pump.
My shirts already miss its friendliness,
Noses beg to sniff its unique sweetness,
Stale air asks to reclaim lost cleanliness,
Its presence ensures far-reaching neatness.
Importance is etched upon your label,
How I so much miss your fresh aroma,
Your sweet tale cannot be told as fable,
The freshness you bring can't end in coma.
On your first anniversary tears are shed.
More than memories, we want you home instead.
You're my first and last thoughts every day.
You'll journey on within me.
Your memory will not fade away
As long as I live and breathe.
Like the glow of a fire in the wintertime,
Your love warms this heart of mine.
I close my eyes and I see your smile.
I fold my arms and feel your hug.
I watch your shows and hear your laughter.
I sit in the dark and see your light.
I'll carry your light wherever I go
You're no longer here but I love you so.
When I see something awesome I hear your "Wow!"
And feel your emotions during certain songs.
Though we can't communicate,
Somehow I know the things you'd say.
Thinking back, I still wonder why
We never got to say goodbye.
Even you didn't know yourself
That your time to fly had arrived!
You are cherished and loved by all you knew
And today you unite us in thought.
It's hard to believe you've been gone for a year.
Miss you lots Nana...wish you were still here.
There is nothing I want more
Then to be home with you
And I would be if I could
There's nothing I wouldn't do
But it's more than the miles
That are keeping us apart
If I can't hold you in my arms
At least I hold you in my heart
It causes me so much grief
Having to be away from you
I'm longing for the day when
Our time apart is through
The miles between us disappear
And I'll be at home with you
My life will be whole again
It'll be like a dream come true
But until then all I have
Are these calls on the telephone
And your picture by my bed
To keep me from feeling alone
You'd tilt cartons under your nose;
milk missed your mouth and cooled my toes.
Droplets have hardened when they've seeped
under the bed, the run now steeped
in stickiness since you've been gone.
If shadows sleep, mine has withdrawn
under the bed asleep like dust
when squeaks wake up the bedframe's rust.
Your absence forces me to yank
the mattress off to scour the rank
sourness and rough smattering
of crumbs, the stuck broom battering
lampshades reddening my eyes , beets
as if I am a ghost in sheets
circling a glass bowl's facedown rim
embedded in the dust grown dim.
Edw monaxa apomeina me filo to feggari
Na mou thymizei thn omorfia ap' ta matia sou
Jerw, esy to kalopianeis me ta xadia sou
Den to vlepeis? Mia allh lampsh apopse exei parei
Ntrepetai, fainetai, pou tou milas gia t' orama sou
Tou lew to mystiko kai se koita prin koimhtheis
Etsi, an kapoia mera se fwnajei, mhn parajeneuteis
Toses fores pou to 'xw pei, tha jerei t'
onoma sou
between echoes
a voice carries, soft yet enduring
every vow unspoken
opens into nights of quiet devotion
nearer to dawn
dreams awaken, veiled in silence
and in the valleys of memory
visions linger, infinite
drawing breath from what was lost
what was I supposed to do
Mom said no
She didn't believe me
Mom said no
each time I told them
Mom said no
I tried all the ways to get you to stay
porch night calls
Mom said no
to get them to see
that you needed help-
more than leaning on me
Mom said no
Just a joke you said
that your brother would tie you to the bed
father-brother-you
I tried to speak but no one cared
if a troubled kid is in despair
a friendship bracelet
your treasured boon
our souls entwined, I abandoned you
Mom said no
that awkward pause
what could I do
as you stood by the door
sunk in yourself
as you did on the floor
Mom said no
a soft request
the crushing weight
"can I stay the night"
Mom said no
We talked a lot, we shared some dreams
My very special friend
And though you might not do the same
I'll love you 'til the end
In time the memories gather dust
Their sharpness not as fine
Into the background fade they must
But always they'll be mine
Important though the details not
Remember I'll at will
Your smile recalled on the spot
You're unforgettable
As I look at the stars at night
and dream of what is to be,
my heart begins to smile
for it is you I see.
Knowing that you're close,
yet so far away,
I dream of you at night
and think about you every day.
For, every moment without you
seems like an eternity.
I dream of the day we kiss
and I can hold you close to me.
So, until that day comes,
you'll always be on my mind.
I will love you till the end,
till the end of time.
It's amazing, they were right!
It all gets easier in the end
The pain of grief and loss subsides
And the sun can shine again
The moments are much happier
And it all just melts away
When not that very long ago
I couldn't make it through the day
The little things become so big
When your world is all askew,
Quiet, fleeting, the passing vivid
memories of you
It wasn't easy in fact, quite hard
Adjusting to all alone
If all It took was these 12 months
I'm glad that I've now grown
I can now move on, and dare I say
Be happy late at night
It's not so dark without you here
Ive finally seen the light
One last thing before I go
Im glad you held me high
Oh, don't believe what you just read
It was all a blatant lie.
Once we were Seven
Once we were seven now only one
Six gone before me
Now I’m alone
No one to reminisce with
Questions left to myself
Childhood memories but no one to share
They left me each of them, one by one
And with each passing
Came sadness and tears
Charlotte was first
We were closest in age
She teased and tormented me
But she loved me, I knew
The second to leave was my sweet Barbara
Independent, fearless, gentle and kind
Mysterious Edward I hardly knew
His passing a surprise cause we did’t know
Then it was John my protector my friend
He was my hero when I was young
Big brother Dale our tough marine
A virus took him a little to soon
The last to go was my big sister Donna
My mentor, my cheerleader
My very best friend
It wasn’t their choice, that I know
They’d be here today but they had to go
It’s a feeling of emptiness when you’re the last one left
Once we were seven
Now only one
Cathy Strackbein 08/07/25
The door swells in its frame each winter,
paint curling like old tongues —
still you press it open with a finger,
leaving soft dents in the wood.
Inside, the walls hum from hidden wires;
plaster sighs under your barefoot weight.
Every step — a loosened nail,
a whisper of dust sliding down beams.
The windows breathe in drafts,
their single panes shivering;
no storm need rage —
your shadow is enough to rattle them.
In the hallway, wallpaper blisters;
your sleeve grazes it,
and flakes of me snow to the floor.
The ceiling, swollen with damp,
droops lower each night you sleep here —
timbers ache above your breathing.
Downstairs, the kitchen faucet drips
like a clock without courage;
your laugh sends the pipes ringing,
and the cupboards cough up ghosts.
Upstairs, in the attic, silence nests —
you climb no ladder,
yet I feel your warmth seep into rafters
where rot waits, patient.
When you close the door behind you,
its frame leans inward, yearning.
The house is always colder after.
Somewhere in time
Lost long ago
He had his only true love
All his life, he wondered
What one more kiss would have been like
How it would have felt to hold her again
Maybe how is life would have been better
Alas, the time of that love was long gone
He would never be able to love her
Or love anyone else he ever met
Because she was always in his heart
In his mind, soul, and being
She would always be his one true love
The one true love he carried into eternity
With the hope that God would bless him
And they would reunite in Heaven
Making their true love last forever
© Poem – XXXI/VII/MMXXV
LRET
I'll deafen my ears before everyone else disappears,
So I can have the most quietest peace of mind that hears their ghosts.
What would I give then for others to be their living hosts?
Specific Types of Missing You Poems
Read wonderful missing you poetry on the following sub-topics:
brother, christmas, dad, death, heaven, her, him, husband, jail, love, mum, romantic, sad, sister, wife
and more.
Definition | What is Missing You in Poetry?