I was waiting in the restaurant
One cold December day
She came down and sat with me
(No-one noticed) but when she left
I saw her place was empty
Then I knew she'd been there.
And she is here at this moment
In this room, she leans over
Finishes these lines
But the moment I look up
She's gone. It's just me reading.
That's how I know she's been here
I see her long brown hair
Trailing on the underground in dreams
I would ask what she's doing
Haunting me here
In semicolons and silences
But she would only shrug
Unable to say
She cannot speak
When I am listening.
While I sit in the rain
Imagining missing her forever
She sits under the sun
Half hoping I will find her
But I won't. She hides so well.
At her best
When no one listens
Peter Jukes 1999