TRAGIC Poem: The Ballroom of Sorrows, by Jess Palacios

I dance with my ghosts because that’s all I’ve ever known
In this decayed ball, the waltz is haunting and slow
Stained-glass windows cast long shadows
Across this hopeless ballroom, my pain echoes

Freezing air creeps through the broken windows
The cold rattles the ancient stones
A weary melody drifts like a phantom
Like a lullaby played while they bury my bones

Gilded mirrors covered in dust
Reveal my fractured self at once
With tired eyes, I gaze towards shadowed balconies
The pathway to a sudden fall of all my memories

Candle-filled chandeliers shatter on the floor
Setting this sorrow ballad on fire
The flames start dancing along, fast and higher
Enticing me to lie down in this tarnished pyre

The ashes then twirl like snow in the air
I faintly see my reaper, under the moonlight’s pale stare
Suddenly I blink as morning stains the gloom
And I’m dancing with my ghosts again, in this endless loop