Altony Foote
Chandelier
Cecelia Toler
Hallowed halls that echo the soft pad of your footfall against pale marble
The walls feel the delicate touch of your hand, the fingerprints you etch into hard stone
The same ones you left on my skin and in my head
I can feel you all around me, the ghost of what has past, I want to see you again
The wind dances with my hair, pulling me in your direction, urging me forward
You’re standing upon a delicate thread of the fabric of time
All I see is up ahead, I’m in an illusion, I blindly follow
I often wonder if memory is like the luminous crystal suspended on a metal chain
Does it dim with time into a luster, one that we try to rekindle with what little sparks we have left
Or does it extinguish with nightfall, leaving us in a fog that the sun can never find
I wish upon the glowing candles as if they are my stars, to remember the answer
Yet, in my satirical mind, I don’t remember
I extend my hand out to touch the light, rising up my bony fingers from the mist over my sick mind
But I soon realize that I’m trying to walk a tightrope to find gaiety again
We come so close only to lose footing, the metal chain is rusted and fractures under our weight
We fall
What was once pure and generous to creatures that don’t deserve it, sends us to the floor
Between silent walls, the sound of crashing waves overcomes the mind
I remember the radiance of the past, only to be left to the wicked shadow of what is gone
I see you again, in a far away place, the fog has settled, and I see you again in all of your gleaming splendor
I close my eyes for a moment, in my bliss you’ve turned the corner and let the wolves descend
Gloom meets me face to face when I look up again, her hand is rigid and stiff compared to yours
I lay on the floor and she wipes away tears, bitter with salt
She’ll stay until you decide to reappear at the perfect time
You’ll hand me my heart on a silver platter, revive the fatigued fire of recollection
Only to apprehend my life again