She Spoke

She Spoke
by Michael R. Burch

 
for Beth
 

She spoke
and her words
were like a ringing echo dying
or like smoke
rising and drifting
while the earth below is spinning.
 

She awoke
with a cry
from a dream that had no ending,
without hope
or strength to rise,
into hopelessness descending.
 

And an ache
in her heart
toward that dream, retreating,
left a wake
of small waves
in circles never completing.
 

Originally published by Romantics Quarterly