Charcoal-Coated

This cobbled lane she’s wandering
Fog obscuring her view
She saunters lost, not pondering
This world of charcoal-grey hue

Dim lampposts; veritably useless
Masked completely in soot
Lachrymose mood, so fruitless
As she aimlessly drifts on by foot

Were there others around her?
She had ceased to notice, if so
Had it been days, months or years?
Since another had nodded hello?

Steps now long-forgotten
Of a dance, whence she spun and twirled
Pastel veils floating and fluttering
Ribbons careened as she swirled

All now the vaguest of memories
Thoughts so dim, now surreal
A world now coloured in emery
Long gone, the initial appeal

Where began these footprints alone
Embossed timelessly in the dark?
Leaving an ash-coloured tint to atone
Then swept with the breeze, gone the mark

She had been born for more than this
Pain ebbed its way through her heart
Emotion rising, of life she missed
From love, joy and hope so apart

But no, this void was better
She surrendered back to her dreary, dark world
No emotion, no pain would now get her
Back to her life of naught, she unfurled

Her eyes drifted back to her cobblestone lane
The oppressive, dank fog not noted
Direction not needed, and gone was her pain
Her thoughts, hopes, and world charcoal-coated

Easter Ellen

~ writing what won’t leave me alone until it is expressed