Then silence

I should have written down

the things she said.

I was so flippant with those words

so naive to imagine

they wouldn’t fade.

I wonder how long til I forget them

the sound of her voice

Until they become echoes

then silence

then an empty space.

And

who will they belong to then?

Last one standing in this photograph.

and in another on the same day.

Now

all is still

around me.

Though

the river still rushes

The ground, solid

Still beneath my feet.

The sky. Still sometimes blue.

Still mostly grey.

As these people I have loved

Slowly fade away.

But

we were the kids.

We were meant to watch the others fade

Gulping down our heavy hearts

bitten lips

and

quick blinking

glistening eyes,

keeping the sadness in.

We were meant to watch the others fade

With our

hands held tightly

together.