VESSEL

VESSEL 

Tracked and trailed by shadows of memories,
Recalls that surge like unbidden waves,
And the intoxicating rush of nostalgia's grip. Trying to shed this fragile skin,
Not thick enough to hold back your ghost,
Your intrusive surfacing at the worst of times,
When silence should reign, but echoes persist. Itching to abandon the crumbling epitaphs,
Of former patterns, behaviors long deceased,
Buried yet restless, clawing from the grave. Instead, with choices laced in folly,
Words whispered in the haze of love's illusion,
Notions of noble trust that blinded me,
I opened the door to you, time and again,
Welcoming the storm, taking you back
Into the fragile sanctuary of my heart. Despite the clear warnings, the history etched deep,
Knowing you as a repeat offender, a thief in the night,
You robbed me of heirlooms of the self—
Precious fragments of dignity, confidence, peace,
Not always replaceable, some forever lost to the void. Haunted now by new places that whisper old pains,
New faces that mirror the ones I fled,
Carrying the heavy baggage of unfinished business,
A spectral weight that lingers, refusing to fade.