A/N: Written for the Diversity Writing Challenge, a44 - poetry collection (total under 500 words)

Four Feathers
2 – Shou

They were memories better off left
for the gloom, but he clung to them:
a promise wilting, turning grey
and crumbling into the sand
before being washed away
by the waves…

He wanted to keep them tender,
keep them safe: rough shell
that scraped his fingers but stayed
solid, not melting in his hands…

He'd let other pieces melt
so he had to keep this piece alive
with cold hands.