Liam Lost To Joyriding Poem by Dan Bond

The bruised bark did not bleed, sap sticky to touch but smooth to the eye gathered in the corner of the crescent crease the car left behind.

Though the tear was formed, no tear was shed, the tree remained unmoved.

But the lad Liam, sat in the back and full of unrestrained laughter was subject to the very fundamentals of GCSE physics.

The impact spat him onto the bonnet with such force and speed that he failed to smell the breath of his best friend ……… sitting at the wheel.

Sirens silent and debris gone the tree lives on as a makeshift bulletin board of grief.

Fingertips search the bark for a message as the girl, not yet 16, stares at the now empty space, incredulous that life can change in a heartbeat

… all it takes is for the beat to stop.

With one shuddering breath she turns to leave as the sadness drains from her head into her heart, leaving an ugly ……but only cosmetic tidemark.

Today she has seen for herself how the gossamer thin thread of existence can snap under the strain of living …….. with just a little too much joy