When I No Longer Poem by moon batchelder

when i no longer hear my lover's footfalls on the stairway,
when i no longer hear his whisper softly call my name,
when those unfathomable depths within his eyes are closed to me,
what time when life's great mysteries shall turn the final page,
then i shall set some time aside to claim a hermit's legacy,
then i shall spend my days and nights - my hazy afternoons
seeking but to please myself, indulging every fantasy
nostalgic for those nights of passion that slipped from hand too soon.

when i no longer watch my lover dream in gentle slumber,
when i no longer taste his flesh between my hungered lips,
when that unmentionable urge to feel the touch of fire subsides,
replaced by deeper longing than i dared to think exists,
what time when he so tacitly should slip beyond life's boundaries,
then shall i spend my days relearning all the ways of solitude,
then shall i write my poetry - my novels by the reams
and only then shall comprehend the awesome weight of memory.