I wrote The Tone of Your Voice last year and was delighted for it to be published in Obsessed with Pipework’s spring 2013 issue.
It’s a poem about heartbreak. Written in an understated style, the approach is pared down and economical. This seemed an appropriate way to describe a heightened sense of loss that can result from a transformative moment in life such as this….
Martin Redfern
The Tone of Your Voice
I watch you answer the phone.
From the tone of your voice,
I realise it’s over.
I hear the tenderness
I had understood was mine.
You run your fingers through your hair,
the breeze unsettling your dress.
I comb your exquisite face
to search for hope.
But your eyes are exuberant now,
you overflow with him.
I want to plead for what we once had –
instead I say nothing.
How do I tell you what you have told me?
© Martin Redfern 2012
The Tone of Your Voice was originally published by Flarestack Publishing in Obsessed with Pipework issue 62, spring 2013.
I love this – it’s beautiful.