J.B. Hogan’s most recent poem to appear here was “No Metaphor” (April 2019). 

Left Behind
By J.B. Hogan

She wore her beauty lightly,
moved gently, softly through the world,
left a trail of enamored men behind,
men dazed, frozen in the cool
light of her gaze.
She meant no harm, gave no offense,
with no malice of intent.
When he first saw her,
he wasn’t blinded, not right away,
he was not like the others,
not so easily charmed,
but soon it hit him, deeply,
into the essence of his own soul.
Yet in his new blindness
he could see within her, within,
to the light that shone brighter yet,
the overwhelming light of her
beauty, within, without,
it swept over him, consumed him,
drove him half mad, weakened him
and like all those before,
left him behind, behind and
alone, surrounded by the ghosts
of the many who had come
before.