Steeped in sorrow, drenched in tears,

Lacerated by lasting fears,

Phantoms ghosting through the night

Fill the heart with regret and fright.

Will this sorrow never end?

Won’t the wounds ever mend?

Damned forever to a life of sighs,

Tortured memories and stifled cries.

How much longer must they pay?

Will these shadows forever stay,

Grisly reminders til life’s last day?

Is there no litany that I can say?

I absorb the words that turn me cold

Yet burn my heart and sear my soul;

I clasp my arms, swaying to and fro -

Why is it they must suffer so?

I cannot watch this anymore,

And so, I start toward the door

And slowly move away from gloom,

But pause a moment, still in the room.

With hands half lifted in despair,

I offer up a fervent prayer

For restless spirits moving there.

It hangs, forlorn, in the brooding air.

©8/16/2003 Thurman P. Woodfork