A Recollection

A Recollection

Looking through the window

at the empty parking lot below

I watch your car turn the corner

until the glowing tail lights disappear

I can hear the baby crying

as the apartment walls close in around me

There is no escape

I'm afraid to carry him down the concrete stairs

his head cradled in the crook of my arm

In my mind I can see him slowly slip from my grasp

shattering into a mosaic pattern

disappearing into the wind

The days run into each other

one indistinguishable from the next

I talk to him constantly

fearful that if I cannot hear my voice

I will one day forget how to speak

The weight of silence when he is asleep surrounds me

and in those moments I don't breathe

I listen for the steady ticking of the clock

reminding me of the passing time

and the ghost of who I used to be

Angela Minard 2012©