birthday

days follow blindly
entanglements of memory.
life dances
to now familiar knells.
love wakes up
to nefarious truths.
hope writhes.wrenches
in restless sleep.
blank ceilings stare
at limp bodies.
blood invades floors.
slowly.sneakily.
and phones ring on.tiredly.
unanswered.unanswerable.
this birthday would mark
a beginning of another kind.

the masterstroke
of midnight.