(Dedicated with love to the children who survived, and to those who couldn’t.)

Orphanage by photocillin on Flickr

There were no toys. There were no hugs.

There were no hands to pat wet eyes.

There were no smiles. There were no songs.

There were no calming lullabies.

There were long nights. There were cold days.

There were no comforts when one cried.

There was just time.

Immense.

Indefinite.

There was just fear.

Impervious.

Infectious.

There were blank stares.

A deafening silence.

There were human metronomes

Rocking in desperate absence.

There were no words.

There still aren’t any.

Just threads of heart

To weave the splintered

Into many.

For The Daily Post