So Long Ago Poem by Lynn W. Petty

Upon the fly-leaf of this tiny book,
She had inscribed:

"To thee, who lost a love as I,
Allow this little book of living song
To bring thee solace, and the comfort
That is thine, to know thou livist not alone,
To bear a burden such as mine.
Addie Marketier,1853."

As if it were a live, hot coal
That seared my heart,
I held this little book of love sonnets
That she had held so long ago.
I turned the pages she had turned. I touched
The teardrop stains on lines of verse
That she had underscored,
And left the pressed rosebud
Where it had lain a century or more.

I thought of what the past had wrought
With images of her soul-grief.
I seemed to feel her presence, as a being
Without shape or form.
A disquieting sensation sat upon my heart,
That she had lived in solitude
Within the shadow of the shatter
Of her dreams.

There is no separation between the soul
And its deep pain, except the grand sweep
Of passing time, which does not erase
But, only softens sorrow.