sense
i saw
the lights flashing in the sky on the night the moon hung full and low and red sending portents of despair through the glass in my room
i heard
the engines stutter and hum as they circled the block both overhead and underfoot pulling us from the comfort of sleep
i smelled
the stale sweat of anticipation and eagerness and fear and gunpowder and blood and woe
i touched
my hands to my head and sank through the snow to the asphalt below
i tasted
the saltwater of tears as another heart ceased to beat
Sumayyah Talibah © 23 January 2019
