The Ghost of Guilt

Another year, another reminder.
A memory of how you arrived,
and the swiftness of your departure.
I knew I had lost you…that you were unable to stay.
Yet as time elapses, the pain remains;
diminished, but always whispering;
conspiring with my anger, toying with my guilt.

I lament afresh your parting;
the huge void you left behind,
acknowledging it should have been otherwise.
I don’t regret your visit.
In many ways it was positive,
leaving me better prepared
to cope with an unpredictable world

No, the only flaw attributed to your appearance
was its brevity.
But that was enough to cause a landslide.
A few hours and the world had changed.
A catastrophe .Moving sands…bottomless pits.
Unexpected and unchartered territory.
No guides; and you, as if you had never been.

Your transient presence however, left an imprint,
a wound; a cut that would never quite heal.
Nor should it.
But what of those who aided your demise?
Whose negligence conspired to force a premature
and short-lived existence.
Does the ghost of guilt shadow their memories too?

I wonder…