The castle by the ocean stood on a cliff ruled by shadows at night,
An ancient, towering fortress, fierce and fantastic, haunted and forlorn.
It rose from the rock, a sentinel of stone and memory,
Bearing witness to countless storms, its walls were stroked by time and tide.
Waves mild and intense disclosed secrets long heretofore,
Stories of love and death, of struggles fought and lives surrendered.
In the moon’s pale, ghostly glares, spectres roamed the halls at dusk,
Their steps echoed through the aisles, a mournful melody.
Turrets pierced through the mist, emerged scornful against the sky,
Their silhouettes were a stark contrast to the swirling fog below.
Windows, once alive with lamps, now gazed upon the sea,
Stares of sorrow, dark and unbound, reflected the endless expanse.
The castle’s gates, long rusted shut, held tales of ancient treasures,
Of kings and queens, of fearless knights, their legends carved in gravel.
The castle by the ocean with walls carved by time and storms kept secret stories from days sunk in oblivion,
Each pebble bore the weight of a history’s silent song.
Mirrors of the past stuck around inside every tormented chamber,
In each stone, a hidden misery and a remembrance were entombed.
The ballroom, now empty, once rang with giggle and mirth,
Feasts and proms, melodies raised, celebrating life and inception.
The castle by the ocean sobbed, a lament to the sky,
Where restless spirits never perished, bound to this earthly realm.
They wandered through the twilight, shades of what once was,
Guardians of forgotten lore lost in time’s relentless haze.
The library, with dusty tomes, held knowledge long since known,
Books of wisdom, spells, and dreams, their pages now unattended.
Cobwebs draped the chandeliers, their crystals dull and silver,
Once sparkling at the candlelight, now dimmed by centuries’ decay.
The courtyard, overgrown with wild shrubs, where flowers used to bloom,
Now lay as silent witness to nature’s quiet doom.
However, the castle by the ocean stood firm, defiant against time,
A relic of a bygone era, preserved in sorrow’s tears.
The castle by the ocean became a monument to the past,
An ancient, towering fortress, severe and feral, tormented and desolate.
Its heritage, etched in stone and sea, whispered on the wind,
A tale of unyielding resolve, where ghouls endlessly persisted.
Esther Elizabeth Racah
