An Elegy for Lost Values

 

I reserve a certain sadness for what I leave behind

I've always had a hard time letting go...

an albatross around my neck, a rope that chafes and binds

secret and clandestine,  all things are intertwined.

I'm searching for a bright light, an incandescent glow

with self-effacing honesty expressing what I know...

yet cold and Machiavellian, the soothsayer some seek

his doctrine antithetical to everyone's beliefs.

Often viewed mercurial, his moods change like the wind;

no altruistic tendencies,  no kindness to rescind.

I mourn the ruination of all who’ve lost their soul;

then buttoning my cardigan, I brace against the cold.

 

© Ginny Brannan 2024

NaPoWriMo Day 29 Prompt: To use one of the following words in a poem:clandestine, Machiavellian, incandescent, altruism, self effacing, albatross, antithetical, mercurial, elegy, cardigan I chose some form of all of them 

TY to TS for challenging our vocabularies with her brilliant use of words.