Aftermath (A Poem)

Aftermath

Like a gust of wind, it came,
Unexpected, all of a sudden.
Left suddenly, just the same,
Leaving pieces; broken, trodden.

Like the waves of a fierce tide,
Lashing in great anger.
Crushing in each stride,
Uprooting each secured anchor.

Like a wildfire it spread,
Burning all within its reach.
Smoke everywhere, and dread,
Its black ashes besieged.

Then came the need to hold still,
To hold yourself so tight.
In silence, breathe it all in,
Accept with all your might.

To feel the broken pieces,
To let the anchors go.
To breathe in the ashes,
To let the tears flow.

And then the tears flowed indeed,
A stream of all withheld.
Uncontrolled and finally freed,
Every sorrow they quelled.

And yet the sorrow stays somehow,
The broken pieces still remain.
The anchors, so displaced now,
The world, forever an ashy plain.

-- Sara Ali