Hiraeth

A longing to return to a place I think I knew,

Even though I’ve never been there.

A desire to walk back into your arms,

Even though we’ve never met.

A want to sing songs that I remember,

Even though I’ve never heard them.

 

There are flowers I can see

Which I’ve never touched.

There are trees I’ve hugged

Which I’ve never reached for.

There are names I hear,

Which I’ve never called.

 

Away from this madness,

There is a sanity which I yearn for.

Away from this hubbub,

There is a stillness which I look for.

Away from these possessions

There are treasures which I would own.

Away from this loneliness

There is a union I would reach.

Away from this horde

There is a face I want to see.

 

When even childhood is a dream,

There is a maturity I would attain.

When even happiness is an illusion,

There is a reality I would embrace.

 

There are fields I’ve never walked,

But I want to see us there.

There are forests I’ve never entered,

But I want to hear us laugh there.

There are wines I’ve never tasted,

But I want to taste us drunk on them.

There are words I’ve never said,

But I want to feel us smile at them.

There are beginnings I’ve never recalled,

But I want us to imagine them.

There are endings I’ve never glimpsed

But I want us to live them.

Sh

Hiraeth - (noun) A homesickness for a home to which you cannot return, a home which maybe never was; the nostalgia, the yearning, the grief for the lost places of your past.

 

 

 

The chains may have fallen away

 

You told me I’m not a prisoner,

So what still holds me back?

You told me the doors aren’t closed,

So why do I still cower?

You told me I’m shackled no more,

So why do my feet falter?

You told me the punishing had stopped

So why do my limbs still tremble?

You told me not to be sad,

So why doesn’t my heart sing?

 

The chains may have fallen away

But I still long to be held.

The doors may be open

But I still yearn to be warm.

The shackles may be undone

But I still want to linger.

The wounds may have filled

But I still carry the pain.

The tears may have stopped

But I still want to remember.

Sh