The End Of Youth

The mark of age tattooed
On our skins,
Pockmarked reminders
Of battles fought
On desperate bed sheets.

Unfolding scars
Like chapters from a book,
Each line a memory
Etched deep.

Lipstick smeared
Across the collarbone
Like blood
On a hunting knife.

Youth's tender curve
In the rearview mirror,
A distant flicker
Fading fast.

The taste of adrenaline still lingers
Between parted thighs,
As innocence was ravished
By time's cruel touch.

Now bones creak
With every step,
Echoing the symphony
Of youth's demise.

And in shadows we find peace,
Embracing the darkness
That dances like a lover
At life's final masquerade.