Scarlet Snow

A drive through the night,

with the patter of wet snow.

My light-hearted family

listening to an angelic tune.

glowing lights

sparkling from the city beside

and stars up above,

like gifts from the gods.

But the serene view

was erased in a moment.

A bright flash of light

The blare of a horn

The moments extended

like a video on slow.

IMPACT.

High ringing and fuzzy sounds,

White lights from the ceiling above

scratchy sheets, and a hospital gown.

I am alive.

This I know.

A moment of panic-

a gasp from my lungs.

I call out for someone

because I hate being alone.

I can’t move a limb.

because I hurt everywhere.

As a nurse rushes in

she grabs my hand.

And her sympathetic stare

is a truth I cannot accept.

And the news that follows

Is a sickening blow.

I am more alone

than I had ever known.

The pit in my stomach

will never go away.

My comfortable life

will never be the same.

My lonely ending

To a story past repair

was a heart-wrenching pain

that only God could share.

My family is dead

because of one man’s

ugly mistake.

A man without delay

Had drunk away his pain

and as an escape

had driven away.

And now he and I

were the one’s whom remained

As a constant reminder

of my pain and my rage.

The majority of a lifetime

holding it in,

living with one purpose-

hating that man.

That man died yesterday.

Despite my hesitation,

I atttended his funeral.

To my surprise

the seats of the old church

were very near empty.

A few neighbors

sat quietly in a back pew.

When I looked at his pale face

I was seeing him

for the very first time

as a man of many mistakes

instead of a villain

who killed my joy.

The shame across his lifeless face

was a shattered mirror

of my fear and loneliness.

And that day I saw him

through God’s merciful eyes

For he was also alone in the world.

Compassion replaced my anger,

Knowing we both lived lives of pain

And I learned that Love and Forgiveness

were entirely the same.