I cried when the plane began

to taxi along the runway,

in line with a peach horizon

turning shades of deep morning orange.

My tears fell silently

to the rumble of swiftly departing

tyres on tarmac and soon

we were in the air, wings tipping

to align the craft in the lilac deep

which became a smattering of blues

with each cloud we passed through.

I cried because this time

my visit to you is new

untainted by too high expectations

and fear swirling in my stomach

like a cauldron bubbling brew:

I am new,

I have left the girl who walked

beneath a dark hanging cloud,

who snuck away in the early hours

never to see you again

as she had known you –

a city of love, history,

cobblestones and marble.

I cried because this time

I am no longer searching

to find you and all the things

you could possibly mean to me –

unwritten and unspoken –

I am here because I want to be,

to feel my feet upon your warm stones

beneath an October sun

beginning to pale

into the due west of Winter.

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Poem: © Kristiana Reed 2019

Between the Trees UK

Between the Trees US

Available internationally