Come Back! (Untitled)

I walk across a carpark and you are not there

I turn the key
Unlock the door
Confront an empty room

The plate is where I left it by the sink
The paper I tossed down looks back at me unseeing
How many times I railed at you and said
“This place is such a mess”
And you looked tired and turned away.
Oh God — it is a lonely day
If only I could say
Come back!
Give me another chance
Please dance with me another time
But you indifferent have turned your back on me
How do I cope without your presence
How to endure — let alone live? here?
Please, please forgive my ignorance
But then I know you have
’Tis only I must learn to wait a while
And be rewarded — with my lover’s smile.

by Lorna Bain — December 29th, 1985