She pulls the blankets around her, closes her eyes to get lost in the warmth. Whispers from the winter night easing inside her room. She reaches out for sleep to come, an elusive dance begins. Exhaustion sits on her eye lids but her mind wakes up in the silence of the moment. Her heart drops all walls as the moon climbs into the sky. The familiar cadency begins, pulsing out the words she keeps within.

missing you
residing void in my heart
your missing laugh use to live there

She swallows hard to suppress the feelings trying to crawl their way up. She cannot set them out into the night for fear they will find their way to him.  Emotions are all she has left and she protects them. If they flutter off and land by his side, they will be crushed by his realities.

teary night comforts
drowning them in salty drops
his name on her tongue

his name on her tongue
drifting on sighs through the night
sleep is her relief

sleep is her relief
running to him in dreams
whispering confessions

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Haibun painted with cascading haiku