cigarettes and incense fill this room with smoke
an old grandfather clock ticks
keeping the rhythm of my heart
something must break the silence

outside the street light flickers
its inanimate morse code permeates the darkness
into a cheap strobe light show
somewhere it must be daytime

bang bang
the silence breaks as gunshots ring
crash click
the streetlight blows
scream shout
a body slumps to the ground
squeal screech
a car escapes
whirr flash
a medic arrives
too late
the grandfather clock ticks no more
silence is all there is

in some life I might appreciate
the silence of the night
just not this time around.

© Crystal S. McDonald.