The root of the affair

Between cost and revelation,

The source of the tear

That split climax and degradation;

The new beginning

Of sentiments dear,

The insipid thinning

Of prospects clear -

The mind grows misty

With stark allusions,

The prowess, musty,

With stacked illusions.

The will degrades

To hope less managed.

The achievement fades

On roads less ravaged.

The spark of the substance

Emerges in an essence,

In place of the romance,

In phases of reticence.

Mystery pervades

Where certainty bode its approach,

Where loss sings in blades

Wrapped in regret and reproach.