yellow, which
tinged the bodies
lying limp,
in the street.

I searched the cobbled stone road littered with lifeless bodies and yellow, unmoving eyes, until my gaze fell upon a single figure. It was contorted into an unnatural position, engulfed in a pale yellow. I staggered dizzily toward the stiff body. Too young. Too young. The words echoed around my head as I picked up the limp body that was once inhabited by my brother. Tears surged from my eyes, moistening his already frigid forehead. My knees gave way as one last thought was whispered in my ears. He will always be too young.

mass graves,
piled up to the heavens,
creating a mountain of death,
of decay,
of sorrow.

I am vaguely aware of being lifted by a black hood, and I'm sure I am peering into the face of death itself. My body is rocked violently up and down as all of my weight is rested on a single, squeaking wheel. Suddenly, the jerking stops, and I feel a sensation of falling, but am quickly cushioned by a soft mound of…What are these?! I muster enough energy to lift my head and take in the pile of decrepit bodies I have come to rest on. Without warning, I feel an implausible amount of weight press down on my person, causing me to suffocate between the stench and ragged clothing. The blood trickling from my wrist ensnares my sight as my vision narrows, leaving a single image on my eyes. Darkness has taken me hostage, as I become one with my surroundings.

a shadow cast,
over the lives
of the lost,
of the spared.

Empty words fill my skull as I stare at what once was the living body of the woman I love. All types of words come to mind, each one only as hollow as the last. Nothing can capture who she was. I could join her. Depart this plague-ridden world forever, and spend each moment with her. But I cannot retire from this world. No matter how much I loved her, I can’t leave them. They need a protector. They need a father. They need me.

shrieks of longing,
blended
with the foul
miasma of death,
drifted,
toward the sky,
becoming lost,
before the hand,
of God.