Left

A poem. For a country. And for a friend.

Left

There’s a growing silence in my left ear

I’m missing the highs and losing the lows 

Since you let go and left me here

The frequency diminishing

As we drifted through our final year

Now what remains of me

Remains unclear

I used to know precisely where to stand

I’d look to the stars or at the ring on my hand

Or I’d look to you, to see where you found your rest

And position myself 

Slightly to the left

I’ve a coldness in one hand, a weakness down one side, 

When I check these symptoms

Online I find a thousand lies

You’re just getting older

Or trapped a nerve in your sleep

Or it’s a stroke or a heart attack

Or a deficiency of vitamin D

I’m angry but it comes out slowly

Misdirected and badly aimed

I’ve drifted in and out of you 

Across these final days

From standing together to standing alone

The inevitable approach of a change

And one of us left

Somedays it seems like you, 

Today I feels like I’m the one no longer here

Either way it’s colder than it was

This time last year