volume 2: reverie i and ii

 dreams wrap around me, soft and heavy,

willful escape.

present—just a shadow,

strife clings like cobwebs,

evertangling and tangling.

memories—sweet, serene,

perfect ideals,

where laughter echoes,

where she still smiles.

where sorrow reverie—my retreat,

echoes of moments,

softly, discreetly,

can’t tread here.

paint over heartache,

brush strokes of dreams,

im poised to rewrite,

to re-live every laugh,

tear every tear.

in this realm of reverie—

i am yearning to stay,

dancing with ghosts,

never let come what may.

i have already re-wrote

to relive it all

sweet reverie,

my release,

never will I leave

that one time,

that one moment,

of infinite peace.

written by Zoe

volume 2: preface (reprise)

 and yet, it spins

back to the beginning, the

cycle spins,

to hospital rooms and

fragmented thoughts

tried understanding lies

under this, i believe,

on echoes reflecting on

tired eyes.

written by Zoe

volume 2: final goodbye ii (alternate version)

  I know that you will enjoy your limited time spent

Until you get the dreaded call 

I feel I’ll try to run away from the inevitable

Should I try to stop?

I know that you will leave only to return in tears

To tell me I should say my final goodbye 

I feel that you’re trying to distract yourself

From the call that will change everything

I know I’m dreading saying goodbye 

So I shall hold on to the memories I have left

For I am almost alone again.

written by Zoe

volume 2: final goodbye i

 "Say goodbye," the words, the infinite chime,

reverberate, a haunting rhyme.

i flee the sterile room, a sterile space,

where hope, a flicker, leaves no trace.

written by Zoe

conclusion (escaped)

 dear Reader—

I dance on the frail precipice of relief,

believing I've left the blank space behind.

my celebration spills forth in exuberance,

family eyes me with concern,

as if they see the truth i deny!

the “space” is but an illusion,

a fleeting dream in the night,

as the cycle begins infinitely anew!

written by Zoe

volume 1: anticipation (december 30th)

 a whisper of hope flutters in the rising dawn,

like a fragile bird taking flight.

“she’s better! she’s better!”

and I cling to the promise,

letting it carry me away.
they say,

yet beneath the surface,

doubt coils like serpentine,

waiting for the moment to sink its teeth,

as anticipation teeters on the edge,

swaying between joy and despair.

written by Zoe

volume 1: downsides / of winter

 jealousy simmers beneath my fragmented

surface,

watching friends revel in warmth and love.

i refuse to cross the grand white doors,

to witness her fragile form,

too caught in the denial ouroboros,

as winter's dealt hand chokes me tight.

written by Zoe

volume 1: dreams

 in the shadows of my sleep,

specters gather.

i plead with them,

to hold my grandmother's hand,

to anchor her back to this world.

Still whispers, dreams, hopes and wishes

twist and shift,

and my hope clings to frail edges of

night.

written by Zoe

volume 1: bored at home

 How does it end?

days bleed together,

each moment stretches,

time slips through fingers

like microscopic grains of sand,

my restless steps echo,

a desperate bid to drown the silence.

but screens burn ever brighter,

masking the whispers,

cold, bitter reminder of what I try to deny.

written by Zoe

volume 1: the blank space

 time pulls,

it stretches and twists,

its mirror cracked,

my breath fogging the glass.

despite we wander,

betwixt the restless ghost,

before the walls close in,

and all my stories echo.

before silence mocks my blank spaces,

and corrupted smile glimmers beneath broken glass,

beneath the vacant moon's lifeless touch

written by Zoe

volume 1: preface

 in this time of uncertainty,

a storm brews quietly within

as clocks tick everslowly,

I sit waiting for my Sun to rise again

written by Zoe

prologue

dear reader, as you journey through these poems, you may find yourself enveloped in the stillness of the moment, where remnants of calm die with the heaviness of absence.

it’s an unwilling surrender to the unknown, where memories wrap around us like a fog that thickens the air and chokes any bit of hope. a pause. the present often slips into the shadows, and you might feel the struggles that entwine thoughts.

the echoes of laughter—once sweet and serene—now haunt the corners of the mind. perfect memories may drown in regret for the past, where a once-glowing smile flickers like a dying flame. in this dreamlike retreat, you may recall memories of bygone moments that softly beckon.

grief layers over each fleeting thought, strokes of hope, and fading dreams, all the while knowing that reliving those moments is.. impossible. each fleeting moment of joy is eclipsed by shadows of loss. amongst this reverie-like state, there’s a desire to linger, to dance with shadows that mock sorrow while defying the tides of fate.

yet, to my understanding—the pain is a binding force, anchoring us to what has been lost. that pain never fades in my experience, but sometimes you learn to live with it. in this farewell lies an eternal breath as one with echoes of what once was and a heart forever fractured. says goodbye to a beloved figure, left with echoes of what once was and a heart forever fractured.  may you find solace, joy, hope, or whatever brings you positivity within these words, and perhaps a reflection of your own farewells.

written by Zoe