nothing stings as much

Nothing stings as much Not the moments I anchored my hope to a withering scratchy rope Not the love that once burned brightly, only to fade into ashes of long lost dreams Not the opportunities that vanished like the embers of a setting sun Not the hollow promises that left me sculpturing kingdoms in the clouds Not the times I felt invisible when all I offered was boundless devotion Not the moments I silenced my soul when it threatened to pour out its truth Not the melodies that once danced in my heart, now buried in long gone refrains Not the times I visited those I cherished, only to stand among their shadows engraved in stone Not the dreams where their touch feels tangible, only to awaken to a spectral void Not the endless nights where aspirations dissolved into the abyss of forsaken hope Not the moments my screams were caged, suffocated by the weight of my own restraint Not the series of experiences that pale in comparison to the existential fear of meaninglessness Not the deafening silence from the Heavens when I begged to just know why Nothing can pierce as sharp or cut as deep or roar as loud or cling as desperately as endless streams of pain Yes, nothing stings as much.