It was the silence I feared;
thick and oily and black as ink.
It embraced me like a lover,
stroking my downy cheek.
The road was yards away,
but I couldn’t hear the traffic.
Everything sounded white.
The cars; the wind; the havoc.
I saw only the car,
upside down, wheels spinning;
a helpless turtle belching smoke.
My horror was just beginning.
It was the blood that drew me on.
A beacon of fear.
I came upon her with burglar’s feet
and knelt so very near.
I did not know
she lay dying.
I saw tears.
She was crying.
I took her hand.
She took mine.
She said, “please don’t leave”.
I replied in kind.
I watched her eyes.
They opened wide.
Her soul escaped,
somewhere outside.
Her hand went limp.
So did mine.
She lay still.
I kept crying.