Torn

Tattered edges
yellowed with time
stains long forgotten
just memories lost

binding is cracked
paint flaked away
fine cotton string
loops empty and broke

pages are missing
memories ripped away
words half remembered
stories fading away

years since it once was
new on the shelf
wonders unknown yet
still waiting to be read

pages are lost now
cruelly torn away
fate is uncaring
of tears shed in pain

long are the nights now
and empty the days
sorrow and tears fill them
yet pain still remains

empty the shelf now
all lost in time
cracked words on the binding
all that remain