Summer's End
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I still remember summer's golden touch
across my face, the ghost of warmth, a dream.
I still remember green and silent days
when I would sail upon a sea of air,
always floating, drifting with the wind.
Its currents bore men and I felt no fear.
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She asks me now: what is it that I fear?
Her hand in mine, a simple, burning touch.
She smiles, then, and turns to face the wind,
and all the world seems fragile as a dream,
so bright, and no more solid than the air.
But no regrets – these have been happy days.
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I used to walk alone in younger days.
The paths were bright; there was no need for fear.
The smell of summer rain would haunt the air
and I remember treasuring the touch
of water falling, gentle as a dream,
the sound of thunder and the rush of wind.
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Her hair is dancing freely in the wind.
Again she smiles. These are the final days
of summer, love, and soon the earth must dream
beneath a frozen blanket. Do not fear.
It won't be death that steals away my touch.
But still I feel the changes in the air.
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I wanted, once, to build a ship of air,
and sail alone, far past the western wind.
To free myself from gravity's cold touch
and ride the sky in search of older days.
But now that old ambition is my fear
and I hold tightly to this waking dream.
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Her eyes are bright and burning with the dream
of summer. Time hangs heavy in the air.
I try to make my breath give voice to fear
but all my words are lost against the wind.
Her fingers brush my cheek. Recalling days
and seasons gone, I lean into her touch.
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And if this dream is taken by the wind?
The air still holds the taste of other days.
Do not fear. Remember now my touch.
A/N: I wrote the first one a long while ago for a poetry class. I had this very strong image in my head of a girl kneeling in a ruined castle, and I couldn't figure out where it came from. Well, recently I was working collecting all my poems into a portfolio, and it hit me like a brick in the face, only less painful. This was Terra in the Ancient Castle. Or at least inspired by that scene, somewhere in my subconscious. I've been writing fan poetry and I didn't even know it…
Actually, for the second poem, also an assignment for that class, I did know it… I just didn't tell anyone. Its about Terra and the death of magic, from Setzer's POV, before they knew she could survive without magic. Implied Setzer/Terra romance, I guess, but you don't have to take it like that if you don't want to. BTW, in verse 4, the part "These are… my touch" is her talking. I thought quotes would ruin it.