I Knew

I knew your dad had died
but now your mum and brother too
and the death notice wasn’t clear
- it might also have been you

I only have one photo
on the train from York to Leeds
of an ordinary young woman
- no jewellery or beads

it doesn’t show the passion
and the real love we shared
just a dirty old carriage
where nobody cared

I should have been bolder
I wish I’d loved more
and now I cannot open
that unique, gentle door

in the fading picture
your eyes are tightly closed
and you just suppress a smile
as if you had dozed

for all these awkward years
then suddenly woken,
our love was right there
still unspoken