Sehnsucht

by Jamie Parsley

after Rilke

So, this is the longing. This is what
it is to live in absolute chaos.
This is what it is to have
no home together,
no hopes and long-range plans together,
to talk with one another the way we talk to ourselves
when we’re alone—
discussing what eternity together
would’ve been like.
The hours rise from yesterday
and fill the life we should’ve lived together.
These are the loneliest hours—
hours without you,
hours which rise up
and smirk in the face of eternity.