It feels good
to hear a loved one say
they cannot conceive of life without you
The air glows suffused with golden motes
bird song ripples with sweet light clarity
and a warm scented breeze
caresses your soul
as your feet tread thinly on air

To be told
down the line
that they cannot conceive
life with you
that is a very different thing
The world fades away
shifts sideways onto a parallel groove
a vibrant, sharp, colourful reality
to be moved through yet
not quite touched
like a second-class ghost
double-exposed over a once familiar scene

To know throughout
that the first
almost inconceivably
trumps the second
that though desert sand blows across the surface
beneath lie unshakeable
irreducible
unknowable foundations
that is a feeling
beyond mere words
a goodness and anchor
to cherish and rest in
secure beyond reason
a blessed assurance
returned without doubt