I’ve forgotten the warmth
of summer on my skin,
the way the sun once lingered
like a lover’s touch.
Now, I carry winter in my bones,
a cold that settles deeper
with every breath since I left you.

I thought I was strong,
but I have become a shadow,
searching for you in every face,
a ghost chasing echoes of you
in crowded rooms.

I haunt your dreams,
slip into your nights
like a whispered prayer,
soaking in your memory like a salve
when the ache of you
becomes too much to bear.

I’ve left the room that held us—
four walls that knew our secrets,
now just a hollow shell.
But you, you follow me still,
a phantom tied to my soul,
drifting with me
through every corner of my world.

And now that you’ve returned,
I can almost hear my soul exhale,
a breath held too long,
a silent cry of relief—
finally, you’ve found your way home,
and the craving in my chest softens,
as if the winter inside me
is beginning to thaw.

© reddragonfly