In the twilight where shadows whisper secrets of forgotten epochs

In the twilight where shadows whisper secrets of forgotten epochs,
An old man stands, a spindly relic of a bygone era,
So brittle he could shatter through himself,
From crown to root,
A cathedral of detritus,
Each layer a sigil of time's cryptic runes.
No mirror needed to see the strata of his life,
Crimson layers of sorrow from the auto deaths
Of father and sister, deaths stacked like cordwood
In the sanctum of his soul, his body a 60-kilogram vessel
Of ravaged nerve endings, etched by the alchemy of disease.
The relic holds no sympathy for itself,
For a life is but a life,
Woven among birds, forests, and fields,
A symphony of nature’s arcane whispers,
Knowing many dogs, a few bears, and wolves.
Some women whispered they wished to weave spells of demise upon him,
But what worth is there in such enchantments? The body, perhaps,
The criminal body, enacting arcane rites, doing and undoing,
A vessel of mortal incantations.
Some seek miraculous gold
Within the rubble and find the old man's gold in empty stew cans.
In the esoteric labyrinth of his consciousness, he wanders,
A pilgrim on the thread of existence,
Unspooling with each step,
A gossamer strand breaking under the weight of aeons.
Each layer of debris a story,
A sigh in the cold evening breeze,
A layer of blood,
A layer of pain,
A layer of lost love.
In the inner sanctum of his being,
Where memories are stacked like sacred texts,
His body, a criminal of mere existence, is judged
By the shadows of the night.
In those empty stew cans,
Seekers of arcane treasures find not gold,
But stories, shattered dreams, and lost hopes,
A heap of illusions,
A mound of life lived among birds and forests,
A life without pity for itself,
Without remorse, just a dance
Of memories in the wind.
And so, the old man, a spindly heap of remnants,
Loses himself in the esoteric flow of his consciousness,
A river of thoughts winding through the forests of time,
Across fields of forgetfulness, a river that never ceases,
Until the final breath.

Copyright © | Year Posted 2024



Post Comments

Poetrysoup is an environment of encouragement and growth so only provide specific positive comments that indicate what you appreciate about the poem. Negative comments will result your account being banned.

Please Login to post a comment

Be the first to comment on this poem. Encourage this poet.

Get a Premium Membership
Get more exposure for your poetry and more features with a Premium Membership.
Book: Radiant Verses: A Journey Through Inspiring Poetry

Member Area

My Admin
Profile and Settings
Edit My Poems
Edit My Quotes
Edit My Short Stories
Edit My Articles
My Comments Inboxes
My Comments Outboxes
Soup Mail
Poetry Contests
Contest Results/Status
Followers
Poems of Poets I Follow
Friend Builder

Soup Social

Poetry Forum
New/Upcoming Features
The Wall
Soup Facebook Page
Who is Online
Link to Us

Member Poems

Poems - Top 100 New
Poems - Top 100 All-Time
Poems - Best
Poems - by Topic
Poems - New (All)
Poems - New (PM)
Poems - New by Poet
Poems - Read
Poems - Unread

Member Poets

Poets - Best New
Poets - New
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems
Poets - Top 100 Most Poems Recent
Poets - Top 100 Community
Poets - Top 100 Contest

Famous Poems

Famous Poems - African American
Famous Poems - Best
Famous Poems - Classical
Famous Poems - English
Famous Poems - Haiku
Famous Poems - Love
Famous Poems - Short
Famous Poems - Top 100

Famous Poets

Famous Poets - Living
Famous Poets - Most Popular
Famous Poets - Top 100
Famous Poets - Best
Famous Poets - Women
Famous Poets - African American
Famous Poets - Beat
Famous Poets - Cinquain
Famous Poets - Classical
Famous Poets - English
Famous Poets - Haiku
Famous Poets - Hindi
Famous Poets - Jewish
Famous Poets - Love
Famous Poets - Metaphysical
Famous Poets - Modern
Famous Poets - Punjabi
Famous Poets - Romantic
Famous Poets - Spanish
Famous Poets - Suicidal
Famous Poets - Urdu
Famous Poets - War

Poetry Resources

Anagrams
Bible
Book Store
Character Counter
Cliché Finder
Poetry Clichés
Common Words
Copyright Information
Grammar
Grammar Checker
Homonym
Homophones
How to Write a Poem
Lyrics
Love Poem Generator
New Poetic Forms
Plagiarism Checker
Poetics
Poetry Art
Publishing
Random Word Generator
Spell Checker
Store
What is Good Poetry?
Word Counter