I Am Not Defeated...... Poem by RIC BASTASA

as i was driving
passing the trees
along this
usual mountainside
of sunflowers and
calla lilies
memories begin to
make a flashback
in my mind, pulling
me back to you
and to the bitter end.
i was beaten and
bitten and rose from
the pain of the wound
like a Phoenix from its
ashes.

i stopped the car and
stood at the highest peak
of the mountain
leading to the house of
my dreams and i stretch
my hands to the fog
and to the nearby dark
clouds hanging on the
cliff and i call my name
i call myself
saying how i miss it
despite the
daily communions
and the grief that
seems to stay with me
and i shake hands
with it, telling it
i am sorry
but i am not defeated.