The Ember Path
Return
Dust in his footprintsβ
he returns with empty hands,
eyes full of silence.
Recognition
Dust settles on lipsβ
I speak your name through the ash
and it speaks mine back.
Memory Echoes
Thyme and resin fade.
He walks out of the story
but not out of me.
Unmaking
He speaks of dead trees.
She watches the light between
the cracks of his voice.
Not Enough
Not enough, he said.
But she shaped belief from smoke
and told it to stay.
Choice
Ash clings to her knees.
She stands from the vanished flameβ
the shrine cannot speak.
Inheritance
The altar is gone.
Still, we teach our children
to kneel in the embers.
Departure
Chains drag through the dust.
She walks toward the quiet sun,
unwritten, unbound.
Renewal
A child waits ahead.
She gives him a glowing shardβ
the seed of a tale.
