Bittersweet

Last night
Nostalgia came to visit.
Oh, she is seductive,
persistent, persuasive
whispering about Love,
togetherness,
rose petals,
the chant of holy mantras
in old temples,
ancient petroglyphs,
incense trailing slowly in front of altars...

When I woke I knew
he was no more,
the man I known
then,
and would never be again.

Walls were built
again
that had slowly broken, crumbled,
then
to reveal the tender Self
I came to love.

it takes courage
to be truly seen
not just for a year
ten years,
but always
in our full beauty,
naked
raw
true.

Everything else is counterfeit.