Requiem for the Shadows....

Castle nods uphill at the tip of the mountain,

Mosaic artwork fosters within undecked halls and fountains.

The chandeliers so close to everyone’s glowing faces—

Where does the gold lie amongst these debutantes' races?

I stand with my grace before Her Grace to call my name,

Her lips aren’t shut, but fumbling insults away.

Courtiers march at a slow pace, announcing the prince and princesses.

I look around, eyes going up with my debauched gown,

My sister holding hands with the prince-to-be now.

Funny, it has never been the other way around.

All now look at me, smile, and start cursing me for my ugly crown,

Guards caught me by my teeth, locked me in the basements down.

Cast not your gaze upon me, I am a chameleon fading fast,

Amidst a throng of suitors, I blend like a shadow cast.

Yet when I meld too well with your visage's dire trace,

I vanish from everyone’s sight, in this fleeting, frantic race.

In this masquerade of love, one man I seek to find,

To see beyond the mask, and cherish what's enshrined.

I can be the notions his mind houses for idealistic scenes—

My skin can bleed, my life can speed, my needs could slowly clean.

Holding my breath, I plead for one who will embrace my tainted face,

For it’s the sole aspect of mine that I cannot change or replace.

It matters not if my heart's lost at sea,

Nor if I fade from my own memory.

As long as your eyes perceive my false hues,

My candle slowly fades, the air slowly diffuse.

My body feels untouchable with its abrasive scales,

Fingers linger all over, but no one to touch it from within.

My cowardish stature concealed to match the beige walls—

It's better to stay hidden than be seen and alone.

My teardrops gracefully cascade onto these burnt lamps,

I stand in this room, bruised knuckles holding my soulful bellows.

Give me a needle so I can inject it into my mind,

Please, for once, let me feel what love feels like….

My bambi eyes looking up at everyone else scheming,

Slowly fading was the hold on my death-rattle breathing.

My heart grows weary of beating alone within my breast;

It's exhausting to be the one stepped over all the time.

Now I know the wings of love don’t reside a home for me,

My heart beats, but I really don't wish for it to be.

Thus, I slowly undress in the courtroom to provide my services—

At least then some men would step forward to mark my surfaces,

At least then I would feel some variable of affection towards me.

Love, let it not be, for heartbreak is a story I don’t wish to read.

Lust can be the queen, for there exists no predicament for feel.

My body might be sold, but to those who would finally wish to touch me.

Please, I am losing hope over this mountain hike,

Just for once, let me feel what love feels like.

Seconds cross to hours midst this darkness’s grand,

I hold my hand to think I can still take a stand.

I am one of a kind, to be alone even if the world dies.

I am a chameleon, I change colors for my emotions alter.

My machinery stopped working, sage green into painted beige falters.

I can't find a way to decamouflage with the castle’s walls above.

I think it means I am just meant to watch others fall in love.

After all, it’s my small stature and weighted center that makes me a reject.

I hear love is like a storm treading over this opulent castle's sect.

But I am trapped in the basement, with drought running blind,

Even a tinge of it galloping down my eyes suffices my mind.

Even if it floods the basement and makes me die,

At least I will die knowing what love felt like.