Love Had a Face

I sat in silence,

thinking back to when

I once believed

love had a face

eyes that twinkled,

cheeks softly flushed,

and a smile

that set my world aflame.

But time,

in its quiet mercy,

taught me otherwise.

Love, I learned,

was never a person

only an illusion

I longed to touch.

Now, as shadows

fall on years gone by,

I watch

as time lays my soul to rest.

I let go

of the hope I clung to,

and finally see

love never had a face.

It had a lesson.