Dead Night I open the door and step outside into the midst of a dead night Such a quiet place; a time when the world is neither dark nor bright The slate sky becomes a shaded canvas, displaying every faint detail of the barren trees towering above The branches stretch their decaying hands towards it, clawing in hunger for the sun whom it loves But alas its warm touch is never found, forever forgotten by what remains of the fading day As the shadows start to creep their way out of the corners, eagerly anticipating their time to play I begin to make my way towards my destination, each step echoing out into the stale breeze of this still night Past sidewalks and abandoned roads; alongside familiar homes and streetlights giving off their amber light Every breath becomes a little heavier, every step a little shorter, but in time I finally wander to the doorstep of that worn down house Through the window I can see the wretch that is a poor broken man, holding firmly to the hand (and possibly the #life) of his ailing spouse His eyes vaguely swollen from the previous times his sorrow overcame him, Her eyes fast asleep, no knowledge of if they’d open again A tap at the window turns his head my way, and upon recognizing me he grabs his cane and makes his way to the front to let me in Pleasantries are understood, but not discussed, for our attention is upon the one resting this moment in her bed We take our places, joined together in our pursuit of a glimpse of hope, I take her hand in mine, entwined as thread I whisper in her ear that her son, her little boy to be precise, was there to see her, holding firmly to fragile hands that may be slipping away A few hours pass, without a sign from her, much of that time spent with bowed heads and heavy hearts, begging that she would stay But the answer to that prayer must come another time, because yet again I’m escorted out without seeing her fully alive And across a silent holiless night I return, yearning for the day when we will finally see the fruit of the hope for which we strive