Faded Hope

I turned down every path they said was wrong,  

Avoided cliffs where broken hearts belong,  

Chose steps with caution, quiet and slow,  

Yet found myself in sorrow's shadow.

I sought love wrapped in honest hands,  

Trust written in unwritten plans,  

But even in the purest places tread,  

Deceit had marked the path ahead.

She came like sunrise, warm and bright,  

Her promises woven in threads of light,  

But beneath each word, I’d learn too late—  

Her heart was a stranger, my faith, her bait.

Perhaps in fate's cruel symmetry,  

Some roads we walk are just meant to be,  

To teach us truths, sharp and cold,  

Of love that falters, of trust that folds.

So here I stand, at destiny’s door,  

Scarred by the lessons I could not ignore,  

And wonder if, in some twisted way,  

This was the path I was meant to stray.