I wrote words before,

polished promises

I lost hold of

at nights by the sea

as the waves stripped 

all that was fantasy 

from all that was reality.

I lost words 

I’d promised to hold

for longer than time would allow

but time is not to be toiled with,

time takes no prisoners,

time is not on our side,

the tide comes and goes

like life, like love, like lines,

the ones we write and

the ones we cross. 

I can promise now 

nothing but now,

nothing but this hold

where hope is held

without being spoken,

I promise to hold you

as we wash over time,

further, deeper into the waves

to see what the tides 

think of us, to see if we float

united, or fall under

in separate streams.

I promise, I promise. 

 

All words and photographs by Damien B. Donnelly

Audio version available on Soundcloud: