Cost of Hope

I once held stars within my palms,

Their light a promise yet unfurled.

But time, it seems, had other plans,

As reality around me swirled.

The castle built on shifting sand,

Its towers reaching for the sky,

Now crumbles with each passing day,

As wind-swept doubts go drifting by.

That wishing well of yesteryear,

Where coins were tossed with fervent prayer,

Now stands bone-dry, its magic gone,

A hollow echo of despair.

The cost of hope, a heavy toll,

Too steep a price for me to pay.

I'll wander through this world alone,

My dreams locked safely away.

_Ravi D