Nocturne A/N: I'm trying something a little different. This dialogue was inspired by Sylvia Plath's "Three Women", a radio play/poem. The two speakers are both addressing the same person, and they are separated in time. "Nocturne" is a term for a musical "night song." And this didn't turn out the way I expected AT ALL -- I guess some things have a mind of their own. Please tell me what you think! This is my first attempt at serious writing in quite a while, and I'm a bit nervous about it (Papers don't count, neither do my previous "sarcasm" offerings. And I plan on writing another few chapters of "A Lesson Learned" this weekend. I'll have time on my hands then.)

Nocturne
A Verse Dialogue for Two Women.

First Voice:

Awake
I watch you shudder
stare, unseeing
such haunted eyes!
your shoulder rigid beneath my hand
your fingers icy
what is it?
what do you remember?

"No secrets."
so many years ago, we promised:
and both kept faith.
all about that night --
the pain, the scar, the roaring
silent blinding
darkness

and still, night by night,
you scream
soundlessly
as your heart races frantically,
desperately,
futile.

what is it?
what do you remember?

Second Voice:
Softly murmuring
nonsense, gibberish
sweet foolish rhymes;
rocking in darkness,
a dark private world
for us.

Your soft flawless skin:
I touch it in awe,
why am I given
this blank slate,
this innocent,
you?

and for a space,
an instant,
an infinity;
the manic time-spheres
stand
still.

First voice:
So many years,
and still I wonder,
how are you here with me?

so many heartbeats,
a moment, a breath,
half a lifetime;
and still I wonder,
what is it?
what happened?
what do you remember?


Second Voice:

asleep, finally,
singing softly as I lay you down.
when it came, I knew,
and did not hesitate.

I stepped cleanly,
quickly,
lightly
forward,
to the inevitable.

one last plea,
oh, just one:

"dear god, don't let him remember."


Another note: In case you haven't noticed, the speakers are Harry's wife and Lily Potter, respectively.