Shades: a Sestina on love and loss

I sip the words from letters

Laid upon a chest, ebony

Under the still light of the moon

Overlooking a deep lake, sapphire

In color, reflects in your jewelry

Resting on your heart golden

Broken hearts are filled, golden

Filling the cracks of letters

Left behind in shattered jewelry

In aftermath of loss, ebony

In color, while tears fall, sapphire

Under the slivered moon

That cycles, like love, the moon

Returns to its full light, golden

The nighttime sun, sapphire

Light that illuminates the letters

Rest on your dress, ebony

On your heart, jewelry

That shines, and reflects, jewelry

That steals the soft light of the moon

Wishing for you in this room, ebony

Shadows that illuminate the gold

That fill the cracks of dreams, letters

That were once filled with love, sapphire

Now fill with broken dreams, shattered, sapphire

Broken, splintered, like the jewelry

That used to reflect the our love in letters

Returned to the sender, under a dim moon

Nightlight, but in this void the golden

That heals and shares love filling ebony

Cracks to build illustrious ebony

Art to love that soothes tears, sapphire

And reminds that love is still golden

In the presence of company like jewelry,

Shine brightly in the full moon

A full heart heals with the letters

Golden from those who print Ebony

Letters on paper and hang Sapphire

Jewelry on our heart, a broken but full moon.

Editors: Nicole O. Leandra S.

Image source: Unsplash