Lessons for Life - A Poem

The corridors echo not with footsteps but

With whispers, faint-ephemeral, tenuous,

People long gone, not dead but gone out 

Of time, detractors, mockers and schemers.

One that played a game of intrigue and

Laughed behind backs, in turn tasting his

Own defeat, a farewell ending in ignominy

Told to get out of what was once his office!

Another had a throne and kingdom, but

Was greedy for favours & commissions 

 Toppled after the  inquisition forced him

To flee  lest  shame be heaped on him

A doctor he was, not a healer of wounded

Souls, but a scourge, to strike terror into

Kindred men, reduced into a sprite, pride

Long gone, holding on to life with medicines.

She was full of art, to make fun of others was

Her strength clever schemer, mistress of

Malice . Toxic doses she fed, to remove all

Opposition was her forte e'en as she smiled.

But, alas, all that remains are empty echoes,faint

 In the corridor, of those that once were, but exist

No longer, alive, but gone out of time, dim shadows,

Faded tendrils of memory, ephemeral and tenuous!

It saddens to wake, remember those that longer exist.

Surely they made life so more exciting even as they

Plotted and schemed to achieve their goals. I once

Knew them, wonder how they might be if they were.

All that remains of them are echoes in the corridors

Of time, whispers that echo, faint, ephemeral, toxicity

Dulled by time, long past, faded memories, of those

That plotted and planned, schemers and detractors!

Herein lies a tribute to all the detractors, toxic people,

Those that made one strong, teachers of the best kind,

Who In their enthusiasm built up character, grit,and 

Patience,  lessons for life that built character for all!