Heartache

This heartache

of days

spent walking

alleyways

ignored

overlooked

shifted

defined

ruled

overruled

This heartache

of days

of daring

to restore

hope twisted

on the first day

of conception

free hope

shackled

to a history

of trouble

This hope

shrouded

in swathes

of misery

sometimes

sometimes

entwines

with intervals

of the joy of

listening to

tiny birds

perched

on flimsy branches

chirping

songs long lost

in the haze

of yesterday