Once

Once I was whole.
Complete.
Unbroken.
Once I breathed
air.
Once I walked.
I spoke,
I smiled,
I looked sad.
Yes,
once I had feelings.
And then,
my sadness was selected.
Chosen
and frozen in its beauty.
And then,
the rest of me decayed,
vanished,
returned to dust.
And now
even the effigy is broken,
the marble decaying.
Only sadness remains.
And soon,
even that
will join me
in the dust.