By Phameinao Shaiza
Early morning hours after midnight
Thinking about death, of loss that can never be replaced
after their passing away- the people you love the most.
It sets down a trail of a lonesome fall
The grim hour getting even darker,
Silence pinching my ears, sharp pain in my chest
Imagining having to live with this one day
But the paradox is mourning
Even before it has happened
No amount of preparation will be enough!
No amount of warning could secure what is to be taken away
Your heart will be on fire,
Gasping for air, suffocated by the fumes-
Of grief, regret and frustration,
Layers of void unfolding as realisation creeps into reality
I often think about the loss of a loved one,
How one person’s absence would be a forever.
Playing, replaying memories in my head
Why are the pictures turning grey?
The sound of their voice becoming a memory-
The last thing you would want erased.
What would you not trade off
In turn for a smile back
How would life unfold had we all known
of a secure sense of time together
The thought that often visits me,
Catching me in the midst of a happy memory-
Death, an uninvited guest,
The beginning of another journey we can only wonder of,
Suddenly, silently becoming the loudest inevitable.