Death And Half Human Birds... Poem by Isabella Mugisa

Eyes opened to the sight of doors that shut
Bolted— in rejection of beggars on the other side
A sigh escaped the desperate demeanour
To approach the gates of a distant light burning in the darkness of the hole inside
Then ashes fall from skies of a forgotten paradise
Where only dogs now lie bare naked in the dust
Biting blindly into bits of letters she once wrote; when she was alive
Hands upon her chest
And bleeding wounds
But she walks
Her heart breaking
Skin fading to a dull sickly shade of purple as falling faces bled
But there was no window for anyone to see into the other side
Should she stand above the clouds believing she can fly?
Tripping over planets that get in her way
Yet only bats that devour skin and flesh could carve their names into her bones
For only they know where to find her
But she holds on
For fear of leaving behind the faded dreams
Now nightmares that haunt her children
She was beautiful; as she sat there staring blankly at pictures of forgotten faces
Desperately trying to remember the woman in the mirror
Who spat profanities at her
Cursing and lying way into a better life
A beautiful creature that once believed in a childish dream
Her skin was fading—her song was gone
Her face had disappeared
White masks replace us when we pass
Like fingerprints of our souls
But bugs and beetles know where and when to bite
And strange half human birds will always find you

And then she walked to his resting place; the darkened bed of thorns
Where now he lay
A kiss she placed upon his lips;
But kisses do not wake the dead or sleeping
If they are in fact asleep

Tears fall from eyes of angels when we die
But who will truly miss us in this life if not those who are but a piece of our own selves
You say you love me;
People curse but still we walk
Hand in hand
Side by side
We trace each other’s footsteps
But soon our foot prints fade away into another life...