I stood once close among the crowd Where laughter rose and voices loud Could stir the soul or bruise the ear But now, the hush is all I hear The tether frayed, then slipped away No sudden snap, no stormy day Just slow decay of wanting ties Like dusk that creeps across the skies At first, I called out through the haze A name, a joke, some half-lost phrase But echoes turned to phantom sound And silence wrapped the world around Their joys grew strange, their fears untrue Their rituals I never knew What once was shared, now lies opaque As if I dreamed, then failed to wake No anger clings, no aching blame Just distance deep without a name They walk the earth in mirrored streams While I dissolve into my dreams And though the sun still warms my face And seasons pass with tempered grace I watch them move, and do not grieve I simply drift, and do not leave