Malediction

A Poem by Alice

The devil,
indolent in his dominion
needn't touch me;
he whispered hexes into the marrow of my
hope and left.

now, joy arrives
in ephemeral glimpses;
a mirage I chase
with blistered feet
and a heart versed in vanishing

every triumph unravels
like thread pulled from divine tapestry,
and I am left
measuring silence
where applause should echo.