Absence of a Memory by Finn Hobart - Poetry Writing Competition 2025 3rd Place

The sunset beamed through the waves astride the island,

Etching the light into the cliffs, the sea,

And the grass below my feet

As the sky slept in a violet cloak overhead.

Standing there,

I felt the entirety of myself

Coursing through the whole of it,

Until every reflection I’d ever made

Was written through the world.

The cold wind cradled me,

In every shade I’d ever worn,

And I think I was struck with euphoria.

And I looked to where you might’ve stood,

Waiting for your laughter to complete the epiphany,

And heard only the wind,

Rushing through the soil that might’ve borne you here,

Under which you rest.