The Shade That Lingers

"Yet, you remain."

The flame is gone, yet still its ghost is near,

a shadow clings where fire once held reign.

The ash drifts down, but shade will not disappear.

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The soil records each ember, each sear,

its silence heavy, yet it speaks the pain.

The flame is gone, yet still its ghost is near.

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What love could not sustain still finds me here,

its echo binds me with a tender chain.

The ash drifts down, but shade will not disappear.

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Through nights of cinder, loss becomes severe,

yet roots still hum the vow I can’t restrain.

The flame is gone, yet still its ghost is near.

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So endings circle, year to year to year,

their smoke returning, ash like autumn rain.

The ash drifts down, but shade will not disappear,

the flame is gone, yet still its ghost is near.