Abandoned Puzzle

In the quiet, the crossword mocks me,

a maze of ink, half-completed, asks,

what’s the word that fits in this space?

A coffee cools, bitter on my tongue,

while shadows stretch across the page,

like dreams that fade as morning breaks.

The pencil lies idle, its tip unpressed,

next to empty boxes, open questions,

letters swirling like dust in the air,

a puzzle half-finished, my thoughts unbound,

clues drift, like the hours I let slip,

a challenge abandoned, I move to the next.