The Echo of Your Absence
Echoes of the Heart, No. 6
The Echo of Your Absence
The Lingering Note of Absence
The simple words we reach for
“I miss you,”
Feels too light
They do not quite hold
The true weight
Of deep yearning
That fills my days.
It is not just a wish
For you to return
To sit beside me
Warm and close
It is more than wanting you
Here again.
It is a change in the air
The way the light falls
On the kitchen floor
The dust motes dance alone
In sunbeams you once shared
A different kind of quiet now
Deep and slow
When you are not near
The house breathes differently.
Your absence is not empty space
It has a sound
Like a distant bell
I can almost hear it
A gentle circling around my ears
And my thoughts
A low hum that never sleeps
Always present
Amid all other noise.
It is an echo, you see
Clear and strong
It fills up all the places
Where our laughter used to bloom
Like bright, happy flowers
It fills the corners
Where your easy comfort rested
A soft, warm blanket
Now just a memory woven into the air.
This echo plays in the silent hours
When the world outside grows still
A soft, clear note
Deep inside my chest
A constant feeling
Like a steady, quiet beat
That only I can hear
There, always.
When I try to express
How wide this gap feels
In every single day
I hear that echo filling
All the quiet corners
Of my heart.
It is not just about missing you
It is about carrying you
In this deep, vast silence
It is the shape you’ve left behind
A constant presence
Of everything that is gone
Yet remains
A sound, a feeling
A breath I continue to take
So when I try to express
How much you are not here
I hear that echo
Filling all the quiet
Corners of my heart.
Valdez Hill, a pianist who learned in a classical style, celebrated 59 years of playing the piano this year. Last year, he gave a recital that mixed music and poetry. He has been a member of the Board of Directors for the Young People’s Symphony Orchestra (YPSO) in Berkeley, CA, for 19 years, making him the second-longest-serving board member. Valdez has also been on the boards of several nonprofit organizations, including being the Artistic Director of Giving Concerts. In June 2025, his poem “Leda and the Swan,” which is a modern take on a famous poem by William Yeats, was published by Moonstone Arts Center’s book called “Remembering William Butler Yeats. ” His poem “A Symphony of Sound and Fear” was also published by Moonstone Arts Center. His most recent poem “ To The Night Stars was published by Verseve for their Stars Anthology published on October 5, 2025 His poems have been read at numerous art galleries and other events, as well as commissioned by local artists.
