Never Mine - Sept 9,2025 Poem by Leria Hawkins

You weren't mine, not for a second
There was no destiny for you and me
But somehow, I've always felt you…I ‘ve known you
Like a whisper that echoes endlessly through my mind
As if we were one soul, divided by a lifetime

Somewhere between my eyes and my heart
I fell deeply…passionately for you
I watched and waited for you in darkest of shadows
Listened, in the warm whispers of a summer's night
All while bracing myself for the bitter blow of winter winds

And I curled myself up, bound tightly in a mountain of strings
Just to feel the numbing ache that I knew would come
Blindly, I chanced to wade deeper and deeper
Into the deep dark secrets of your soul
Because I knew in my heart that we were cosmic

Fated to love beyond the ordinary experience
Like spirits, blown by the wayward winds of time
Finally, to lead us to a new place, to a new chance
To find the magic that had long eluded us
To join as kindred spirits to fill our empty spaces

I yearned so deeply to believe that you were real
Was certain in the catch of my breath, in the long exhale
In the electricity that held me quivering and raw from across the distance
I felt wonder in the maddening hunger that shined in your eyes
I knew that I was again facing my soul, my purpose, my forever

It was just a chance meeting, a brief glance across a crowded room
So close, a love so reckless that my joy instantly turned to pangs of sorrow
I felt the all too familiar ache for the impossible touch
I stood there, mesmerized, dumbstruck by the familiar face
Yet, terrified by the lingering ghost of that ancient grave

I steeled myself, struggled frantically to break the spell
As my heart cannot take the confines of such dark despair
Or the gut-wrenching fall from heaven to hell
I cannot crawl back into that cold and lonesome oblivion
And I refuse to unearth the grave of my yesterdays

You weren't mine, not for a second
And there is no hope or purpose for you and me
No more this moment, than a lifetime ago
We're just two souls who pass, desire, even love
But are never destined to sail into forever