Loss - 4. Lullaby

The darkness,

cool and comforting,

surrounds me.

It flows over my body

like a river of silent tears,

washing away

the torn remnants of my life.

It embraces me

like the arms of a dead lover,

holding me

against the quiet safety

of his stilled chest.

And I am shielded

from all that is bright and burning,

from all that would make

my aching eyes see.

And the silent song

comes to my ears,

sweet and beckoning,

a lullaby of death—

words without form

whispered without breath,

soft against my hair.

“Come lie with me,

my long lost love

upon the satin sheets

of starless night,

upon our bed

of eternity.

And the dawn need never

darken our dreams again.”