As I Speak

As I speak

As I speak a life burns down with a village and a family.

A baby cries, a blossom blooms.

As I speak a mouse scrambles across the wood floor away from a tiny gray kitten

A tree dies, a gun is fired

As I speak a poem is written with words crafted out of breath

A memory forgotten, a lone star glows

As I speak a ladder falls and a bucket of paint spills, coating the concrete floor

A child laughs, a flower is picked

As I speak a forest is broken to the bare skeletons it will remain

A picture is taken, a crane folded

As I speak a whale is beached off the coast of Hawaii

A plane takes off, a hand is shaken

As I speak a story is written in blood and titled history

A life dissipates, another begins

As I speak a dog barks as the neighbors car pulls in

A promise is broken, a wish made

As I speak a nightmare of death morphs somebody else’s reality

A dove soares, the sun disappears

As I speak a man is shot down while trying to flee the horrors that await all who stay

A jacket zipped, a cup emptied

As I speak a volcano erupts consuming a city of stone walls and stone people

A piece of hair braided, a teacup filled

As I speak a trigger is pulled on a gun to big for the little hands that hold it

A dress bought, a door closed

As I speak a cry is heard so distant I can not respond

A wolf howls, a knife is broken

As I speak a hunter crouches in the shadows, waiting for illegal prey

A faucet turned on, a stone kicked

As I speak a woman carries water ten miles so her family can drink

A threat uttered, a question asked

As I speak the last remaining animal of a species head is mounted on a trophy wall

A letter is sent, an icicle melts

As I speak restless time ticks by, waiting for something new to happen.

As I speak.