Halcyon

Ashen Kingdom

My wrinkled eyes trace the shadows of a dark drawer, cocooning my fragile ego,
Around an unopened envelope that should have been read years ago.
The last veins of twilight slip through the unclosed curtain,
And then, a breath later, it's all dark again, bleak and uncertain.

But still, the phantom of yesterday's love lingers,
Hey, love, look, I've returned to our crumbling fortress,
Once graced by forgotten winds and bound by shattered vows,
Each stone now hollow, and every unbowed pillar now bows.

You were my knight, but your armour tarnished with perfidy taints,
We were a kingdom built on whispers, and now, silence reigns.
I waited in the tower with expectant eyes, wrapped in hope's fragile veil,
But you never returned—leaving me to rule only our loneliness and fail.

You insisted on building our walls high to keep others out, but you forgot to let me in, love.
You left me stranded at the drawbridge while you disappeared; how?
And now I roam in the ruins of our sand kingdom, my very own,
Only to return each morning, discovering I was a queen without a crown.

I tear open the envelope, my fingers trembling on the leaden paper,
The ink is barely there, but its weight; crushing, apologetic and japer.
Our kingdom burned to ashes epochs ago, did you know, my dear love?
No worries. I'll burn this letter, too, as a final tombstone for a love that was never laid to rest from above. 

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