Cry of Despair

8/20/2023
You scream a shrill cry of despair
My bones shake, muscles quake
Nothing could have possibly prepared
Me for this, something’s amiss
Alarms ring out a deafening blare
A blazing fire, burning dire
Skin melting ‘neath singed hair
‘Til air runs out, (can you) hear my shout
With not a single breath to spare
I need you to see, the misery
Upon me now—exposed, bare
For what I can’t do, is why I need you
This heavy burden; to shoulder and share
The quiet will come, when my days are done
To challenge the chaos, I’d never dare
Yet what I need is the briefest reprieve
But this hell rages on beyond compare
I see your face, but hope’s replaced
By the emptiness behind your stare
Ashes to ground, to never be found
You never offered the slightest care
Earth scorched, hope torched
A bridge broken beyond repair
Nothing left, color’s bereft
Were you ever really there?