Saudade

The sea speaks of longing
Songs from lost navigators
Echo in the cadence of dreams
Stowed half-known within.

Perhaps the rain has made it so;
Slanting across vague light
Recalling a memory of itself
Having fallen there before.

Desire is the wind somewhere
Blowing the hair from your eyes
Agitating damp leaves away
From childhood's tree-house.

Only the dreamless will forgo
The pain from things that will never be
As stars give out that grave glitter
To otherwise boundless dark.

Reviews

[Casey Truax]

I looked up “saudade” and it is well conveyed here. Each stanza has both a concrete image and an idea tied to it, picturing a world full of ineffable longing.