The finality ahead of a new beginning

-
The clank of wood.
The broken bricks poking at your heels.
The eagles hovering high up above.
The gloom in the sky.
The smell of smoke and carcass.
The echoing howls of misery.
The conch competing with the cries.
The weight of unshed tears.

You see it.
Yu feel it
You smell it.
You accept it.

One moved on to a better place.
Left so many behind:
Family. Friends
Left so much undone:
Dreams. Promises.
Stories. Memories.
Ache. Pain.
...
Void.

You watch the father,
Note their striking resemblance.
You hear the mother,
Feel her tears and yet not know their weight.

Slowly succumbing to numbness,
You seek an escape.
You can't.
You don't find the courage, the will.
Glimpses and voices,
Keep coming back at you.
They won't ever stop, will they?
…
Silence.

The fingertips turn white, yet you can't let go.
The shoulder you can lean on.
The Cuckoo calling.
The flower settled inside your bag.
The tentative drizzle.
The prayer song you hum to yourself.

…
The end.
...
The beginning.



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