A Sigh Away

Don't forget me!...I'll always linger
in the hollow of a sigh.
I'll slip unbidden into your dreams...
Don't mistake me for punishment!

Smile when you recall my face,
for my warm gaze will undo you...
Love doesn't die when I do,
I'm only leaving in the flesh.
Don't forget me!...I'll return soon
wrapped in some white remembrance,
from an old album I'll embrace you,
through a window, at your threshold.

Then I'll settle softly
in your tears...and in your long breath.
I have no remedy for love.
I can't even speak its name...

Don't grieve for me, and don't wear black!
Don't let your heart grow dim.
Be glad that you have loved!
Others live their whole lives without it—
the gift to feel, to love, to live,
to meet another's understanding eyes...

Tell them our story! Let it kindle
the dreams that fade in their hearts...
And this verse I leave is no goodbye!
I'll be just a sigh away.
The rest...is only the path.
And it is a test of what we are.