The Firmest Embrace

I fought the firmest embrace
And lost.
No brethren left to share my burden,
The yoke’s mark rests on my back alone.
Released from an overlong cell,
So afraid to leave,
The sun dazzles.

The path is unlaid, bare.
Milestones are absent.
Dirt bites.
Lying still, the heart skips involuntary.
Clouds come to kiss me, icy-tongued.

The similar is unfamiliar.
All is stealthy indifference.
Fire smells and crackles.
My history is burning, without illumination, nor warmth.
My music box wound down.
My key warped.

Discord surmounts ambition,
And the final treasure is plundered.
But nobody won.
The former embrace
Now lags open.
Blown asunder by the wind,
Love’s song is sung.