The Girl is real. I made her surreal. The wall and window are figments of my fertile imigination. She goes with this poem. Residues of Remembrance Residue of remembrances, creeping, stealing into conscious manner Troubled thought rambles, twists, sleeps soft embrace fails Muffled chimes toll, chiding, mocking each temporal hour Reason toils, turmoil of one heart, lonely, beating for two Restless tossing, impelled to rise, move beyond recalled images Pacing hallways, shadowed rooms entered, left unobserved Foot falls weaving, faint trace of presence, abruptly shrouded black Indistinct glimmers, glide circular, collide with sentient heart Relentlessly drawn, window beckons, night light showers down Merciful breeze, stirring scents, recollection sudden, rampant Form evolves among cloud, fervent desire heightens pulse Images appear, impact, vanish, heart chills in yearning Reticent, obscured emergence, pallid face reflected in gray glass, Starlight's sheen unmasks, exposes, streaked tear ridden cheek Phantom shines once more, lips contract, constrict, confine Unuttered questions, locked firmly behind disbelieving heart Random appearances decline, grow infrequent, trickle into dust Dawn's first roses surface, apparition flees on hummingbird wings Ominous intimation looms, terrible burden escapes, opened to view Turning from, hearth residue cools, willful heart turns away G.R. Hambley 07/98 (c)