u/Ancient_Buy_292

I have recently gotten active on the Reddit. This is the first of the series of three poems telling a story. Would appreciate your feedback and comment. Thank you.

The Trellis and the Vine

She stood adorned in redolent bouquet,

A floral magnet drawing me too close,

My scattered senses stolen clean away,

Enchanted by her whisper and her pose.

Did she speak words? I cannot truly tell;

Her breath was warm, a low and drowsy sigh.

I had no swift desire to break the spell,

Unwary of the trap that hovered nigh.

Within a breath, she held me head to toe—

A creeping vine that begged me for a frame.

Her soothing murmur urged me to let go

Of old defeats, of battles, and of shame.

But time dissolved beneath her phantom touch;

Her false devotion stripped my spirit bare.

She drained my heart of everything—too much—

And left but hollow shadows lurking there.

She drank my soul with dark, malicious glee,

As if a desert thirsted for the rain,

And softly mocked my final plea to flee:

"No judgment, boy, it's useless to complain."

What became of her prize when all was through?

Should you deplore my weakness or my shame?

That bitter grief is for another day,

A quiet sorrow with an unspoken name.

For now, let this remain the final toast:

A thing of beauty took a trusting guest,

And left a hollow, unremembered ghost,

Bereft of all his gaiety and rest.