When your gaze found mine, the whole world swayed, As if the earth had missed a hidden beat; The sunlight suddenly grew unafraid, Then melted like warm gold around my feet. I tried to look away, but something stayed, A trembling little universe in you; My eyes became two doors I could not close, And every secret seemed to wander through. I felt my cheeks turn roses in the rain, A sudden fire underneath my skin; The stars began to whisper my sweet shame, While little suns kept blooming from within. Your eyes were not just eyes, they were a place, A strange blue room where gravity was gone; I wandered through the silence of your gaze And somehow lost the person I was on. My heartbeat stumbled, then forgot its name, It ran barefoot through corridors of light; I blushed as though the moon had called me beautiful, Then hid my face from heaven's watching sight. The trees leaned closer, jealous of the view, The flowers opened wider just to see; Even the wind became unusually shy, As thoug...
I saw you
before you saw me.
You were standing
at the edge of the silver fog,
looking frightened
by the silence.
I knew that face.
Not because
I had forgotten it,
because once,
I looked like you.
I had the same eyes
that still expected tomorrow.
The same hands
that reached for doors
without wondering
what waited behind them.
The same foolish belief
that life was permanent
simply because
we had not yet learned
how quickly it ends.
Then the world
let go of me.
And I became
what waits after goodbye.
A name whispered
in empty rooms.
A shadow that remembers
having a body.
A voice with nowhere
to put its words.
A ghost.
Do you know
what ghosts cry for?
Not the living.
Not anymore.
We cry for the versions
of ourselves
that never made it here.
For the promises
we believed
until the final breath.
For all the mornings
we thought belonged to us.
For the people
who said forever
without understanding
how small that word
sounds from this side.
That is why
my tears do not fall.
They rise.
They gather
like cold rain
inside the hollow places
where my heart
used to beat.
And then,
I saw you.
Walking slowly
through the mist.
You looked around
as if searching
for the world
you had just left behind.
I almost laughed.
Almost cried.
Perhaps ghosts
have forgotten
which one comes first.
I knew you would come.
I had been waiting
without knowing
I was waiting.
There are some souls
whose arrival
you can feel
before they cross the distance.
Some footsteps
sound familiar
even when they no longer
make a sound.
You came closer.
I could see
the questions
still alive in your face.
Where am I?
What happened?
Is this forever?
I wanted to tell you
the truth gently.
But there is no gentle way
to explain eternity
to someone
who has just lost time.
So I smiled.
And said,
“I knew you were going to join me.”
You stared at me.
Perhaps you recognized
something familiar
in my eyes.
Perhaps you finally understood
why I had been waiting.
Then I opened my arms.
Not as a lover.
Not as a stranger.
As someone
who once stood
exactly where you stand now.
And I whispered:
“Welcome.”
The fog moved around us.
The stars above us
did not twinkle.
They watched.
Silent witnesses
to another soul
leaving the temporary
and entering the endless.
Here,
there are no clocks.
No birthdays.
No aging hands.
No mirrors
to remind you
that time has been taking
small pieces of you.
Here,
the night does not end.
And the strange thing
about immortality,
is that forever
is beautiful
until you remember
everything you can no longer change.
You will learn that.
You will miss sunlight.
You will miss rain
touching your skin.
You will miss the warmth
of a hand
that had a pulse.
You will miss ordinary things
you once thought
were too small
to deserve gratitude.
That is the cruel secret
of the immortal land:
nothing dies here,
but everything you loved
can still be gone.
You will walk
through endless gardens
and remember
the one flower
you once picked
for someone you loved.
You will hear
music without musicians.
You will see
rivers that never reach
an ocean.
You will discover
that eternity
does not erase memory.
It gives memory
infinite room
to echo.
And sometimes
you will cry.
I will understand.
I have cried too.
These are my tears,
not because
I am unhappy to see you,
but because
I remember
what it cost you
to arrive here.
I remember
the life you left behind.
The unfinished sentence.
The unopened message.
The person
who thought
you would call tomorrow.
The dream
you were still carrying
when the world
closed its door.
But do not be afraid.
You are not alone.
There are countless souls here
who once believed
they were alone too.
They will teach you
the language of eternity.
They will show you
where the old memories sleep.
And I,
I will walk beside you
until this place
no longer feels strange.
Because once,
I looked like you.
And now,
you look like me.
So come.
Leave the mortal world
behind your footsteps.
Let the fog
close over the road
you came through.
Do not look back
too long.
Some worlds
become heavier
when you keep staring at them.
Tonight,
you belong here.
Beyond the last breath.
Beyond the final goodbye.
Beyond the reach of clocks.
Where ghosts remember,
where souls wander,
where tears do not fall
but become part of the mist.
Welcome to our world.
Welcome to the immortal land.
And if you hear
someone crying
in the distance,
do not be afraid.
It is only me,
still grieving
the life I once had,
still remembering
the face I once wore,
still shedding
the tears of a ghost
who waited
for someone
who looked like you
to finally
join me here.
© 2026 Gloria Penelope
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