When darkness made it's way into my mind

It left me cramped and confined

With thoughts of terror, death and pain

Swirling around inside my brain

Until the thoughts started to become real

And as I ate my last meal

I thought of you, and you made your way through my head

And I slumped down on the table; dead

A silent death

Is one that goes unnoticed

Unclaimed

John Doe

Nobody to morn him

The homeless man

Frozen in the streets

The old shut-in

Who died in her sleep

No one notices

As they pass by

Days

Weeks

Follow

Since you were alive

What happened to family

I haven't a clue

To die in silence

An injustice to you

A man, bruised and defeated

Laid there all alone.

A man, broken and beaten

Had nowhere to go.

A man, forgotten and scarred

Coughed a bit of blood.

A man, neglected and barred

Had not even one.

A man, hopeless and empty

Felt so rejected.

A man, desperate and bleak

Looked so neglected.

A man, hungry and confused

Shed a tear or two.

A man, lifeless and consumed

Had always felt blue.

It began with a hunger

A hunger like before

They had always had less

Not more

How it would end

They could not have known

One day they were hungry

The next gone

The poor Ukrainians

Stalin abhorred

Five million dead, maybe more...

Realization too late

Famine too wide

All that was left

Was to wait and to die

Without the strength to move

Strength to search

Death

Without a word

At some point

the noises stopped noising

My ears bequeathed and my eyes inherited --

sound took the form of interference, waves of bass bouncing in the background

Next the eyesights started to blend into black,

and without context, smells became unsolvable mysteries

I was down to touch and taste,

but these were now heavier than any I'd ever known

The sensation of fingers on my forehead echoed...

these were my new voices, my new fragrances

The echoes persist,

bouncing off the dirt walls and back into me

I am no longer touching,

I am no longer tasting...I know this

Everything is echo now

A heart locked away

Got a glimpse of the sun

Unused to such light

Became scorched by the rays

started peeling away layer by layer

Till it was left raw

It's like catching an eel,

Or sealing a leak,

Or stuffing a bear,

Or hushing a shriek.

I just wasn't quick,

I just couldn't help.

At least he was quiet

And at peace with himself.

the smile faded from her lips,

the light from her eyes,

and her hand inched towards his.

she whispered something to him,

and he grinned through the pain

of her descent, for,

that was the way she'd want it.

as heaven gained an angel,

he lost his only one.

the most despicable goodbye.