The Unopened Letter

The letter stays sealed within the envelope unread and faded  Bringing neither hope, nor memories blurred or jaded  The day it came I could not know Which destiny the words would hold. Out of fear I refused to break the seal In hopes that neither fate was real Thinking only of the I in me Believing not that Love could ever be  Nor trusting simply your love for me Past memories of former hurt stake their claim Haunting wounds, nightmares in the middle of the day. Uncounted years the letter lay Preemptive strike I walked away  Hoping the memory that can never un happen of that day  Will be less painful than the specter of what might have been had I embraced the gamble of love the day your letter came. And after all these years surprisingly  That letter still calls out to me Tho I know now what might have been can never be. I sometimes think what if I was wrong What if the letter told of love grown strong  Of two hearts held by one strong bond Perhaps the words spoke tenderly  Of Love Of Life And not dear John as I assumed it to be. I will never know if those words are real Because the envelope that contains the letter Remains sealed. Somewhere in my twisted heart I feel That those words unread Can neither harm, nor heal. Which is better? Which is worse? Does truth lie in the ancient verse "Better to have loved and lost than never loved at all" What daysman can ever make that call? Maybe the tragedy that is worse Is to never give your heart a chance to hurt. So now I stand alone and cold Much like the unread letter folded in the envelope. Never throwing it away yet still not reading  Dying unwounded Scarred but not bleeding. Knowing full and well that I will never know The message that the letter holds Too afraid to let it go Yet too afraid to ever know I stand alone  A prisoner to unread words. Fearing the past and dreading the future  Fearful of presumed hurt.  Yet I'm frozen And alone A prisoner held hostage by a message I'll never know. A letter  Alone  In an envelope. Unopened.