by Ganggang Guidice

1

That night we met under the ethereal moonlight

I sealed a secret using the fragrance of epiphyllum flowers

whose decay implies the moment of our goodbye

My subtle smile barely hid tears in my mind

Whispered “see you” softly, but after that

I can never see you again

I can never see your silky smooth hair

as elegant as sunbeams in the morning mist

I can never see your jade green eyes

as bright as shooting stars flashing in the frozen sky

2

I write a song using my heartbeat

and play it in weeping dreams that are so bittersweet

Your voice is glowing strings in its stormy rhythm

lightening the unreachable beauty in the heavy sleet

After many years

will you still remember my face

will you still read my poems

with endless inspiration you gave me

in each block, each line, and each phrase

But why I cannot belong to your trace

I am just a piece of maple leaf

flying in your crowded street

Even if a gentle breeze

can blow me away with ease

3

This winter’s first snow

is more meaningful than fables

and more graceful than fairy tales

I write your name again and again

on the neon lights covered snow

when gusty winds blow

But you will never know

how much I miss you from the depths of my soul

What breaks my heart into pieces

is neither coldness, nor loneliness

but the desperate truth that I realize

you have already forgotten me, a long time ago