Staring at her own dead  eyes

deep set brows and hollowed cheeks

she saw the dead looming past,

circling

for a short- lived life, not worth a dime

for ragged scars of lost dreams,

unanswered pleas

caged within gilded woes, weighing then down into the abyss

poisoned illusions  growing darker

swirling, smothering the faint glow of her cheeks

the snare biting coldly into her skin

mattered no more

as she slinked into the shadows

past the phantoms,

whispering  death

 - 17th September 2023