Journeys

• Sara Roetman, Grade 6
• Poetry
• 2006

The rain soaked me until I was so numb I lost feeling.
I could only hear the misery of rain against me,
And the groaning of thunder above me;
It was almost as if there was nothing around me,
But the cold serenity of old bones.
I could see so many other things, but they seemed so dull and dead.

The rain hid the pouring tears running down my pale cheeks,
No one seemed to be around, nor did they seem to even exist.
I felt as if I was alone, in a small world of only the dead.
Silence filled the body beneath me,
And my own.

Morning turned to Afternoon. Afternoon turned to night,
The rain began to fade away; as did I.
I was fading into pain and misery,
Every tear that came from my dull blue eyes,
Felt like an earthquake against the muddy soil.

My father always said,
“Death, is to not have the gift of life,
But to have the freedom of pain.
It is a whole new journey,
Starting with pain, but never ending,
Life, on the other hand, always ends,
It begins with someone else’s pain, and ends with your own,
Two different journeys, sometimes seeming so alike in many ways,
But yet so different in others.
Life can be cruel and satisfying,
Death can be a gift and a punishment,
Eventually everyone receives the journey of death.”

Now the time has come for my journey to end,
But, I guess, in a way, it is just beginning.