Drought

Where did you vanish,
lovely Muse?
I miss the caress
of your whispers
in my mind's ears
suggesting order.

Now, although
I listen intently,
the only sounds
are rain on a tin roof,
mice rustling in a corner,
breath and heartbeat
and nothing at all.

When you disappear,
the world becomes
cruel and random
as when a lover
dumps you for
no particular reason,
leaving an incomplete
jumble of pieces
from which you must
puzzle out creation.

Only return, Sweet Muse,
and whisper once more;
you know my heart will listen.

Without you I am only
a deformed lump of clay;
an aging man holding
a losing hand while
Death looks at his cards
and smiles with certainty;
without you the Void
becomes the Abyss;
without you, there is no me.
  - mce