I walk alone
through this world
of darkness and misery

In this garden of gloom
a phantom hides
guiding me through my dreams

What terror this once held
the tower of desolation
home of the ebony rose

Black as my morbid heart
their thorns cut deep
eviscerating my soul

What once was a nightmare world
is now the place I escape to
hiding from the world without

This garden that once held terror
I now hold so dear
a place to hide from reality

This garden of darkest beauty
tended and cared for
by the phantom of my deepest sorrow

Poem © Ryan Ritter 2006 (used with permission)