August 23rd
" I remember that day
As clear as the crystal springs in June"
only it wasn't June, It was August
the morning air was thick like smoke
it choked me awake
the first blush of day
flushed across the sky
blood red clouds
colored her path
I lay still
like the air
without a hint
of summer's wind
the clock on the wall
tormented me
with the tick, tock,
tick, tock,
its bony hands
seemed to skip along
until I arose from bed
I sipped on coffee
as I took in the news
unsure what my day would bring
...and then I could hear a buzz
as if a fly was making circles
beside the bed, then a ring, ring,
ring echoed within my purse
I stared at the clock
my heart began to beat
faster then time
was it my father
did something happen
I worried as I listened
the voice
was indistinct
as if being choked
I struggled
with my ears
to make sense
of the words
that fell
...and then silence
fell all around
as if deaf
and mute
unable to process
and conceive
the message
my brother,
who turned 49
just the day before
was breathless
like the august wind
no more jokes
or laughter
or candles atop cake
his wick had burned out
within that last breath of air
and it burns, slow
as the years pass
still to this day
yet I'll remember that day
forever more....
pick a line contest
Mustapha Mohammed
"Reflections when the summer breathes"
Sandy Adams 8-22-2013
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