Fear Of Echoes

the city's din,
a racket
of whispers
in my ear,
each footstep
a reverberation
of all the words
I've never spoken,

words I should have spoken.

fear of echoes
that haunt me
in the hollow
of my chest
where shadows of loved ones
linger
their silences
a heavy mist,

thicker than smoke.

in the mirror's silvered
gaze
I search for a face
that's mine
but find instead
a stranger's
echoes
of a life unlived,

unlived as cancelled.

the wind
a mournful sigh
through city streets
that stretch
like a canvas
of forgotten
promises
and broken vows,

more broken than a paupers spirit.

in every stranger's
eyes
I see the ghosts
of my past
their echoes
a reminder
of all the love that won't
last,

won't last a whisper of a moment.

the fear of echoes
that chase me
through the city's
endless night
a reminder of all
I've lost
and all that I've yet
to fight,

to fight like an ant.