2026 Winter Poetry Contest: Second Place

Photo by Vlad ION on Unsplash

 Where Have You Been

Farah Filinta-Bhrath

I prayed to God to send a mate for my soul

To fix in my heart the gaping hole

But no one came after years

And multiplied were my fears

I wasn't good enough for love, I reasoned

He probably wants someone prettier or in life more seasoned

I prayed again and from God heard not a peep

So I, alone, cried myself to sleep

In every reflection, I hoped to see his face

So my unhappiness would erase

But I saw and heard nothing, no one 

Clouds everlastingly covered the sun

I prayed, cried, and prayed again

For one hour, two hours, three, ten

Then I fell silent, sure prayer was useless and unneeded

To my doubts I finally ceded

Then, in the depths of the dark, tears streaming

heart inwardly screaming

I saw a vision of a man

Kind eyes, soulful eyes, tall and tan

He was a boy from school to which I never talked

Who everyone hated and mocked

He disappeared one day

And where he went none could say

He said he was sorry he couldn't be there

He thought, years ago, no one for him would care

So he ended his story prematurely 

"I wouldn't have if I had known you were for me, surely." 

My heart broke but I finally understood

He would be here if he could

For the rest of my life, I saw him in reflections here and there

Mending and breaking my heart little by little, tear by tear

Never with me but never far

Holding my hand when under the water went my car

Then we met face-to-face

. . . . .

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