A crossword puzzle half-finished and abandoned

At the café table, a crossword awaits,

a jumble of letters, tangled fates.

Ink smudged like thoughts I can’t quite recall,

words left unspoken, my mind’s weary brawl.

Each clue a reminder of days spent alone,

as life scattered pieces, like seeds overgrown.

The pencil rests idle, a sigh in its lead,

a puzzle half-finished, my heart feels like lead.

No longer a challenge, just an empty page,

thoughts slipping through fingers, lost in a cage.

A relic of time, where silence once thrived,

a crossword abandoned, where dreams once arrived.