Tag: modern gothic

  • Unloved And Still Alive

    Unloved And Still Alive

    Unloved and still alive
    Burning inside like a bursting candle
    Shunned by the stars
    Forsaken by my own fate
    I wandered in my idyllic imagination
    Careless about the consequences of my quest
    So in silence I remained, keeping my stillness and avoiding any apprehension
    I had been cast away from the realm of certitude
    And I had embraced the illusory world of swoon
    Embracing the unknown was my main aim
    Since I lived with the constant suspense of the unpredictability of the events that would unfold before me

    I saw the traces of shame on the walls of a glorious temple
    Remembering that once upon a time, they were covered with the names of those who once enjoyed privileges and gifts
    Although I saw their shadows fading in the void, I knew that their presence was there
    Underneath the oblivious dusty tapestries and carpets, there were the spirits of disgrace
    How long could that secrecy have been hidden?
    It was a question resonating in my mind
    How could it even have been possible to leave such a precious wall so tainted and hideous?

    A crowd of paid names was pasted onto ephemeral history
    Then, years later, it was peeled away, leaving one of the grand palace walls flayed by adhesive and a code of silence
    Names faded away like ethereal legends erased by the wear and tear of time
    Not even the wear and tear of their fake smiles and affected bows could erase what was obvious even to the marvellous works of that now decayed temple
    I saw but I didn’t forget
    Unloved and still alive
    I was an accidental witness to dreadfulness and grotesqueness
    Everything seemed to be so unreal and absurd I couldn’t even admit it as a bare reality and an ugly truth

    The sky was cloudy and the rain fell all over the magical palace with its infernal caves
    The more I walked erratically, the more I felt like I had lost the old version of myself
    I had drunk the poison of my intuitions that were verified by a harsh reality
    I had become inebriated on a potion that had been offered to me just when I didn’t want it
    And although the ghastliness prevailed, so did I
    I cherished my essence of a drama queen and goddess of darkness
    Since I chose to belong to the unseen world of dark shadows and enigmatic secrets

    Although I was unloved by mortals, I was still alive in various shapes like an ethereal creature of an invisible kingdom
    I had recreated myself from dust and ashes
    While the time slipped away like sand in the wind
    For I became what I could never have imagined
    A lost butterfly in an abyss of turmoil and deceit, overflowing my imagination with illusory chimaeras
    I endured a world of wretchedness and cynicism, facing every horror wrought by mortals
    At the very end, there was never an end
    The decay of the perishable world never ceased, but it persisted inexorably
    And I stared at the stars as the only act of salvation for my lonely and broken heart.
    Elisabetta Esther

  • Burnt Flowers

    Burnt Flowers

    Burnt flowers became ashes of anguish and despair
    Within a realm full of wonders and sorrow
    Snowflakes were melting into stars and flames
    In the liminal space between night and day
    Where the fury of storms encountered the hush of eternity
    And the only melody I could hear was a solemn refrain
    Feeling feverish and mortified at once
    Feeling alive and fading indefinitely
    I began to see glowing flowers in my garden
    Every magnificent blossom trembled in silent anguish
    But I felt a deep delight and bliss
    Reminding myself that I would vanish alone
    In an ocean of sorrow and tears
    Without any consolation
    Without any farewell or elegy

    Once faded away
    I became an obsidian raven
    Insolent and powerful
    Finding my amusement in whispering omens to mortals and sleeping atop withered trees
    I enjoyed being surrounded by the scent of burnt flowers and incense
    My supreme merriment was being caressed by the gleaming flames
    And observing how easily mortals were undone by ruin and dissolution
    I could freely smile in front of their astonished countenances
    Although I had always aimed to be cherished
    Although I had always wanted to be adored
    All that I could attain was only a box of relics and thorns

    Who, indeed, could ever have consoled me?
    Among the shadows surrounding me
    Only a frozen indifference was offered to me in a silver cornucopia
    With shady candles and fragments of seashells
    Sipping sweet poison and bitter elixirs made me a sorceress
    I was detached from the world of ghosts and illusions
    By intentionally becoming a creature of the nether realm
    Although the sky belonged to me as well
    Burning quietly from within to make my existence bearable
    Every pang was a blissful yearning, and my body could perceive its intensity.
    Elisabetta Esther

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