The Meeting Point Poem by Gert Strydom

Time had escaped from me,
as if it was somewhere else
and I wasn’t anymore the kid I had been
when I went to war
the person that I was before
and time had left me
to become someone else.

Before the leaving we were two people
with shared thoughts, shared dreams
two people with a similar destiny
beating as the heart of one

but time had escaped from me,
as if it was somewhere else
the world had changed
and now you belonged to another
as if time had left our destiny

and I saw a pretty girl looking at me,
wondered about what she did see
while I bought her a drink,
lit her cigarette
and time stopped, it did cease
while on satin sheets she offered me peace

and about killing, about life and death
why good men fall and I live on
I couldn’t understand
and you were gone,
she offered me her hand
and led me to a nice hot bed
and time had escaped from me,
as if it was somewhere else
while she was still there
etched by the window
and outside the rain was falling
and for moments I was free
from this world with hardship and pain


[Reference: Meeting Point by Louis Macneice.]