Unyielding Dark

Coffee drips—dark spill on white,

a spreading shadow growing tight.

Fingers press and scrub in vain,

the stain refuses to be tamed.

Edges fray, a mottled ring,

like bruises time won’t let me bring.

It spreads and blooms, no soft retreat,

a stubborn wound beneath my beat.

I press again, watch it climb,

a stubborn mark, a crooked rhyme.

Not fading, holding fast its place—

a darkened mark I cannot erase.