Dying slowly
Empty, devoid of fear or any feeling
Although sadness sometimes sneaks in through the locked door

I am leaving, going away from the world
Walking alone, carrying nothing, leaving nothing behind

It is lonely and cold, and dark
The path disappears behind and there is no path ahead

Emptiness explodes in my chest
Can’t breathe, can’t move, can’t scream

Bereavement fills in the spaces that love left behind
and silence surrounds the places he once occupied

My child is lost
my child is gone
and yet his form, his shell, stares at me
across the middle distance