A child's birthday
Cake and candles
Singing and laughter
He tore open presents
And his face illuminated in wonder
At all the shining toys
With their gears and pieces
Green soldiers ready for battle
Colorful bricks to be made into cities and landscapes.
The nest day, something is missing.
A coat.
A set of keys.
A suitcase.
A morning cheek kiss.
A mother.

A fluorescent lit hospital bed.
The beep of life support.
Shallow breathing.
An old woman sneaks in,
Flowers in hand.
She smiles at her sister.
Her sister smiles back.
They talk
And joke
And reminisce
About times long gone.
Anything to drown
Out
The
Beeping.
Anything to drive away the
Silent
Screams.
The next day
The woman sneaks in,
Flowers in hand.
But now
Only
Pressed bed sheets.
Silence.
Flowers hit the linoleum,
Scattering petals
Like teardrops
On snow.
No more smiles.
NO more beeping.
Only silent screams
And a broken woman
In an empty room
Surrounded by flowers.

A busy office.
A girl in a suit made for someone older.
She sorts papers
And drinks coffee
Until the darkest hours of the night
They whisper about her
They romanticize her husband
They call her strong
They call him a hero
One day
The office gets completely silent
As a man in black
Sweeps past them
Carrying an envelope.
No one dares to confront him.
They girl sees him and screams
She tears the envelope to pieces
Because she knows exactly what it says
Her husband is no longer a hero.
Her husband is dead.