When Silence Wept

"Fools' Fire"

We were gods once,
Teeth sharp with youth,
Flames in our eyes,
Laughing at the yawning abyss.
We swore we'd burn,
If burn we must-
We'd rather ashes,
Than dust gathering in daylight's grasp.

"Live fast, die young," we chanted,
Tongues forked with poison,
We danced on edges,
Skirts flirting with the wind's dark edge.
We kissed blades,
Swallowed smoke like morning air,
Dared the reaper to try us,
To pull us down.

We drank the night dry,
Licked the stars from our fingers,
Spat back the sun as it rose,
Always swearing-
If we die, we die.
If we fall, then let it be a legend.
The night whispered yes,
And we followed like lambs to slaughter.

But years creep like shadows,
Bones start to creak,
Memories hang heavy as chains-
The faces we've forgotten,
The lovers left bleeding,
The scars we carved into ourselves.
Now the mirror shows a stranger,
Eyes rimmed with old fire's ash.

The bravado fades,
Just echoes in the empty room,
When the body won't rise,
When the ghosts gather close.
And regret is a blade dull enough to wound,
But sharp enough to twist.
We were young once,
Now we carry our choices like graves in our chests.

The truth we swallowed,
Now chokes our throats raw-
We were never invincible,
Just fools with fists raised.
We laughed at death,
But now its shadow hangs long,
And we mourn the youth we spent
As if it were ours to burn.