Memory extends its empire, holds the frame
But blurs the line… some other time invades the sense,
A moment caught and lost, second sight.
Suddenly I feel you near me worlds away and close as this;
One stolen kiss upon my lips and
The moment slips away in mid-flight.
So many years ago, and now it’s hard to recall
Just what you meant to me… still I wait, I’m patient,
For the memory comes to me eventually.
Here you are, and though you may soon be gone
Somehow the song still burns as bright:
I felt it happen here tonight —
Here, in the empire of delight.
Dream and ghost the world around me,
You seem as real as ever you were…
But in a blur your breath on my cheek
Has gone, and the evening come into night.
So many years ago, and now it’s hard to recall
Quite what you meant to me; still I wait, impatient,
Though the memory comes to me eventually.
Here I am, forever caught up in this mystery
And then, that moment when the fire ignites —
I felt it happen here tonight,
Here, in the empire of delight.