My memory of Dust; her beautiful face?

now

Dwindled into a pile of ashes
Reposed within the garden of farewell
and return.

On this mid-autumn’s night
There are traces no longer
Of the Glaze Lilies that have faded with time
Or the Osmanthus petals out of bloom.
I only hear
The stifling cries of rain
And unending hisses of insomnia.
They seem to bring me back
to the beginning
of the end.

When Glaze Lilies were still in full bloom
And Osmanthus scent with companions dined
When I received that puzzle piece from you
One that I never thought I would unwind
Little did I know
On that mid-autumn’s night
When the dust danced in the light
Pale blue and refined
Your body would be enclosed in my sight
The knot of the sack drawn tight
Brought down, down, down
To the icy depths of the vault
Only to be revealed again
Under the dark cloth
Within the walnut case
Dissolved as ethereal
ashes.

Seven years have gone by
I have finally deciphered
The enigma that you left behind.
Unravelling the labyrinth of notches
To disclose the heart of the matter
And there it lies —
My dearly kept and sorely missed
Memory of Dust.

- Oct 13th 2021