Fragile

Within the shadows of fear and fragility A pessimist advances through a blackened forest Shoulders hunched forward and head tipped down Biting winds irritate immaculate virgin flesh Another follows intently behind Cautiously gathering strength from the first An optimist broken into a dozen sharp pieces For the hearts of mankind have been deemed unfixable In a desperate attempt to fly There is a third that walks in silence Realists often forget that puzzles take patience to solve Enticing aromas of nectar and honey fill nostrils Trailing the others is a dreamer of beauty A believer of magic and moonlight elegance But even dreamers have nightmares that end in peril It is those terrors that eat at cracking bones Before them lies a bridge made of brittle wood Dangerously it hovers over opaque waters Calling each of their names with loving intentions Seductively luring all of them upon deaths door Now atop the manipulative structure Perched on the railing in a single exquisite line Sit four strangers who appear to be lost lovers Intertwining their fingers with the one sitting nearest Convinced of intentions, they hold on tightly Not a word is spoken between shallow breaths Leaning ever so gracefully towards the river below They fall just as leaves do in autumn They fall without importance Four deep graves have been aligned in a row Pigmented mud mixes with rain to imitate vital fluids As a minister solemnly examines the reasons for death You stand with an unexpected polish and vitality Mournful eyes inhabit once vibrant shades of innocence Forgotten feelings of joy remain abandoned in the car Relentless are the emotions that beat against your insides Unforgivingly you desire to rip them all to shreds Adjacent from you is where I reside Nearly everyone is gone but you still cling to your spot I watch as you place a rose on each casket One for the pessimist One for the optimist One for the realist One for the dreamer And one for yourself So that you may never forget