El Laberinto Del Amor Poem by Paul Ogbuigwe

Is this what I wanted?
Fortune's cup poisoned by regret
Dreams realised, hope forsaken

I grasp the veil that shrouds my desire
Revealing the endless tunnel of sorrow
The lonely path I run to and hide from
Yet I know I must pass through it
I must not fear

This crucible Fate has prepared for me
A labyrinth linking past and future
The ephemeral thread of meaning guides me
and leaves me forlorn
Here one moment, gone the next

I hide in the leaves
Of trees and books
Tracing the veins of fact and fiction
But my irrational heart calls me out
Drawing me back to the labyrinth
Paths branching into alternate futures
All equally possible
All exquisitely painful

My love hides in one of these corridors

Discard preconceptions at the gate
Turn left away from wealth
Pass by the illusions of fame
Shed pride as you pass through the
mire of delusion
Leaving tears to show the way back
Then maybe you might find her
Your Love
With arms soft as cashmere
To embrace your scarred flesh
And soothe your wounded heart
Then the tears dry up
And the only way is forward

But there is a chance there's nothing there
After all the winding paths
All the trials of Fate
All that remains is loneliness
Unrequited hope
Passion extinguished
Just waiting around to die

Shall I take that chance?
I must
Because not to do so is certain death
Death of the soul