Concrete Requiem
Written August 18, 2025, for contest Sponsored by Vanya Evangeline
****************
Orpheus in the Underpass,
strummed not strings but a tape untied,
melodies muttering on weathered stone,
beneath the urban sprawl—
where shadows reign,
And graffiti whispers tales of kismet.
Eurydice donned her headphones,
When the cab clipped her soul,
She tumbled into the subway’s maw.
a place of silent echoes
and flickering fluorescents
where moments unravel asunder
And names are beshrewed.
Orpheus, longing for her breath,
descended through the gates
with a melody woven from dopamine
and duct-taped dreams.
His voice, a soothing fracture,
a dulcet ache
That brought tears to the rat's eyes.
and set vending machines to a mild harmony.
The dead convene—
Witches in bedazzled hoodies,
shops of bygone lovers,
cursed symbols of erstwhile delight.
They listened.
They set her free.
But the rule remained:
“Don’t look back.”
He wandered forth,
Her footsteps were a whisper.
trailing in his wake.
The city above was auric.
a chalice of light and sirens.
He felt her breath.
such embrocation on his neck.
And then—
a flicker of doubt,
a furtive glance,
a single turn
The horizon loomed ahead.
She vanished.
such steam from manhole mouths,
such serotonin in sorrow,
such a melody
before the last note fades.
Now he plays.
in the underpass still,
a demure Amorist
with a voice that rends asphalt,
waiting for a world
where love
Ask not for shadows of memory.
Copyright © Sotto Poet | Year Posted 2025
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