Thorns and Velvet

She wandered past the mirrored doors

Through velvet halls and marbled floors

A garden bloomed in blood and rose

Where something once begun still grows

Vines curled round forgotten stone

And in their heart: a face she’d known

Eyes like dusk, voice like fire

He spoke her name - though not entire

“Do you remember who you were?”

“Before the mask, before the blur?”

Thorns and velvet, soft and cruel

Love that burns, but bends the rule

He reached for her with hand unseen

And woke the dream she locked away

He wore a mask of woven light

But in his gaze, she saw the night

A flicker, flash - a dance, a fall

A memory she couldn’t call

Yet something in her soul took flight

As if she knew him once by right

Thorns and velvet, kiss and flame

A whispered truth without a name

She almost speaks - but holds her breath

For words may lead to loss or death

She lets him guide her through the green

A place between what is and seen

But in his arms, she feels the cost

Of all she’s known… and all she’s lost

Thorns and velvet, pain and grace

A heartbeat held in masked embrace

She walks away before it breaks

But leaves a tear the garden takes

He watches still, without a sound

Among the roses, dreamless-bound