Nevermore.

Concealed from the world about me,
no self-imposed exile ever ends well.
Desperate for human contact,
a simple touch could break this spell.

Locked away like an unkind stranger,
my reflection is one that I'd rather avoid,
despite aiming to be more familiar,
the beast within me is easily annoyed.

Time has never been on my side,
my hopes died wishing on grains of sand,
with the demise of every enchanted petal,
I drift further away from being a man.

Then you arrived in my final hour,
as stagehands prepared the curtain call,
and just as easily you slipped away,
though I remain helplessly enthralled.