Transparencies

I cast a shadow
not of my own languid shape
but of long hopes stretched now
beyond the reach of my raw
fingertips or gravelly legs scraped bare

You wore the signs of love like a formality
a noose knotted round your neck
an ill-fitting suit for a dress-up game
there is no ring no single tear to stain
your face
                 should be red in shame

Do you remember
we stood beside a tree once
it spread lovingly over
our nestled heads
and I told you that the whole
was contained in the branch

Now
this branch finally unfurled to its tip
you have proven me right
my last leaf has fallen on wet ground
you have made an autumn in June.