Don’t Whisper That Good Night

by Carmen Ruggero

with acknowledgment to the poem by Dylan Thomas

Don’t you dare just fade out of sight!
An ambiguous exit is not your style.
Proud, stubborn, your mind unbent
by persuasion of any kind;
inflexible, cruel — kind at times,
but you’ve always been your own;
never afraid to speak aloud.

So, how can you simply fade away?
How can you walk from light to misty gray
looking right through me as if I were glass?
Denying my presence, rejecting my touch —
crimson the rage that burns my heart!
What nerve you have to turn your back
and gut my shell with honed indifference,
oh, no! you will not melt like ice!

We’ve differences to settle — you and I.
Such hurtful words you spoke to me;
once, twice, many times, maybe thrice
and replies still hang from my tongue;
would you have listened had I spoken then?
I don’t think so. But you need to hear me now,
before nightfall... please look at me;
hear the verses from my aging heart.
I’m not vapor. I’m not air. I’m not glass.
Like substance flows through your vessel
as it does through mine.
See the likeness in our spirit, see me first,
then face the light and claim your peace.
Stand up and shout, but please!
Don’t! You! Whisper your good night!