I feel a certain jealousy

for the hims and the hers

that I have never met

nor do I know their fate

For however they continue

they once were the spark of a fire within you

—

Who was that girl?

What did she make you feel?

Did she break your heart or would that be too perfect?

Is she even real

or did you give her life?

—

I know that you can help me see

my hopes and dreams reflected

in a form more real than i can now conceive

—-

I want to hear those details clearly

only i would recognise

the ties that bind the two of us

so long as we have ears to hear

—

You grant the world the privilege to ask:

who was that girl?

What did she make you feel?

Did she break your heart or would that be too perfect?

Is she even real?

or did you give her life?

—

To glimpse your world is not enough

I want to be enshrined inside

I want to find a place to hide

a part of me within your melody

—

and even through some trouble’s throes

i’ll always have a place to go

where i remain forever vaunted

beautiful and always wanted

by one who’s hymn of wanting fills my heart

—

To be that unnamed girl,

the spark that lights your song,

that you have made eternal in return

Mark McQuillan (2024)

I knew him when we were young

We spent those days in the sun

He stood alone as the one who would haunt me through the years

-

And the sadness can be read on my face;

Emotions I can’t erase

They bring me back to a place and time 

When there was hope and calm

-

And though I saw our imperfections

With time they have given way to memories of laughter and joy

Which now may be forever out of my reach

-

I see his face in my mind;

His movement one of a kind,

His silhouette in the light of a day I yearn for still

-

But would I gain some small comfort knowing his heart aches as mine?

Mark McQuillan (2023)