A poem about love and regret by David Tombale: Where the palm trees stir

Where the palm trees stir is largely about trying to run away from your problems and learning that you carry them with you.

Where the palm trees stir

Some days the words will not be spoken,

some nights the thoughts will not be shared

but I was there and you were there when

the crumbling walls we built went down,

in the earthquake of too many fights and

the stubborn will of a silence kept and kept

still, for I won’t begin to talk, I turn the key

and the lion’s roar of this diesel engine will

only ask for more.

I will hide my tears amongst the gravel stones

of the great outdoors, hide my love and the crimes

I did in a stolen kiss some place far from here where

the palm trees stir, but when the miles have blurred

and I have loved and left every place I’ve found

I fear I will only mourn us more.