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Writer's pictureLavinia Thompson

Poem: Wreckage and Ashes

Updated: May 29

Sometimes rain

whispers gently

across prairies,

upon wildflower petals,

soaking the earth,

quenching a thirst

for life;

soaking me

with liberation,

heartbreak,

love.


To sprout something minuscule

from a wreckage

after crashing into

a house already in flames.

Tiny leaves

drenched,

reaching for the sun.

Not yet.

Not yet.

The clouds haven’t

passed me over yet.


Ashes doused,

smoke stirring,

one last choke for air.

Did you know

death would hurt you so

after the years you spent

torturing me?

Did you embrace it

or scramble to the end

for one more day?

Did you whisper or scream

your last words?

Did you ever think

you’d die alone?


That storm,

it lasted years.

Thundering, bellowing,

wind whipping, snapping,

pounding doors and windows,

cracking walls and bones,

throwing furniture array

until nothing remained

but wreckage

and ashes.

Your legacy.


And I,

still walk out in the rain

to stand at the edge

of some small town,

watching semis

roar by on the highway.

A silent reflection on

the night I almost

drove into one

for all the madness

you drove me into,

never hitting the brakes

in time to see

twisted metal,

desperate eyes,

shattered glass,

the end.


Rain pours down

to douse burning walls,

to soak me beneath

storms of indignation.

The day you set fire to

that home was

the day of reckoning.

Clouds dissipated,

black ribbons unraveling.

Heart-wrenching sobs

became gentle whispers

upon skin.

You can

start again.

He’s gone now.

Death never meant

to take you first.


Image by WikimediaImages from Pixabay

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