Gatekeeper

Lies upon lies, stacking like a deck of cards,
Uncovering dusty clues—cascading like dominoes,
A poem unwilling to unfold its myriad of layers.

I walked the unfolding trail, heedless of peril—
Eyes sharp and focused, tracing breadcrumbs,
Walls pulled up, thorns and bramble blocking the path.

Bloodied but alive, the trail neared its end.
My last ordeal—a mirror wherein secrets dwell,
Memories lost, erased in its shining reflection.

But I knew—markers did not miss my scrutinizing eyes.
I prepared patiently, the soft hush before the reckoning.
I passed the portal—the dwelling of my answers.

Unwavering, on the cusp of revelation—I walked the highway.
On the doorsteps of fate, my calm evaporated,
Like smoke in the wind.

The urge to run, cloaked in expectations, moved me onward.
Step by step—my bane, my nemesis nearing—
Its last bastion laid bare.

Then light—sharp, bright—
As I opened the last door.

A name I dared not speak—etched in gold, buried in silence.

My name—a gatekeeper of whispers from the past.