Absence

A poem about dissociation.

Photo by Kilian Murphy on Unsplash

I was there

and I wasn’t.



Felt the cold 

and didn’t.



Heard the music 

and missed it.



Saw the lights 

and was frightened.



Went outside 

and retreated.



Was greeted 

and degraded.  



Felt special 

and contracted. 



Like a tree

in perennial shade



Never knowing

what it was missing.