by Ellen Guerrero

 

It began with a

Cough-

One by one

Caught in

Its web. 

A pool of 

Despair,

Transformed into

An ocean of

Grief. 

Another year 

Of childhood

Changed. 

Another birthday

Lost

In the monotony . 

No shrieks

Of laughter, 

No games

Of tag, 

No jumps

In a moon bounce.

I weep for 

What my children

Do not know. 

They remain 

Blissfully unaware. 

My heart aches, 

Holding the burden 

Of an unlived

Memory. 

They will remember

Mommy and Daddy

Love me. 

I will remember

The deafening

Silence of a

Popped balloon.