Seeing you there felt surreal
You hardly seemed real,
With skin unnaturally pale
Lips parted in a deathly stillness.
But reality finally hit: this was real.

I will never see you again.
Never take that familiar stroll to your apartment
Or coax you to eat your favourite foods
Or laugh to my dad’s old tales.

Figures cloaked in black file in
Echoing “condolences”, “I’m so sorry
They offer embraces, their smiles tinged with sadness.

Yet, their well-meaning sympathies act like stones:
Intensifying the chasm of loss in my heart,
Shattering the fragile dam that held my tears.

You’re truly gone.

(credit: featured image)