Show nothing Don’t flinch Don’t blink Face blank But not set to stone
No intake of breath No outtake as spent as a sigh Or “Oh” more breath than sound spoken long as a clerical dirge Definitely do not let the scream escape
Stay upright Spine straight Do not pool into the floor A cascade of tears
It’s not real Can’t be real I deny this I refuse this It is not real
Frame broken Still the house stands For all the world a pleasant country cottage Not the “homey” and yet generic family room of a sterile hospital Holding echoes of lives undone
(Does not follow the Prompt as it contains internal dialogue. Also, last stanza is metaphor- not description. And yet, it is a start.)
