The Sunflower

Often they would meet

Some chance encounters,

Others a little planned -

Sometimes between work,

The library, at the computer

Or even the canteen or the railway station.

A shy smile, a gentle nod

Words unspoken - thoughts shared

As the flute played on magical notes

And the sunflowers along the railway platform

Remained silent witnesses.

Each day their story grew

A dimension added.

He was to travel to a distant land

And she was to wait.

The eternal wait

That likes of her have known always...

Vibrant memories flood -

The cherished moments,

The pain, triumphs, the unfulfillment...

He returns-- a changed man

A million centuries of separation…

Across another time

Of emptiness and void.

Her world has lost its charm

The books lie covered with dust

Of a thousand years

The flute plays on…ever haunting

Only the sunflowers along the railway platform

Remain....perhaps to wait

Wait for a lifetime

Or even beyond...