Cardinal by Natalie Bashore

A+drawing+of+a+cardinal+near+a+windowsill.+Art+by+Natalie+Bashore

Natalie Bashore

A drawing of a cardinal near a windowsill. Art by Natalie Bashore

Natalie Bashore

Cardinal,

You’re watching over,

Everything I do.

You say you know,

I always hope,

That you will come back soon.

 

The day just passed,

When your time didn’t last,

And you became a bird in the sky.

Now I look back,

To many years ago.

Before the red bird could symbolize.

 

Now I look back,

To how things once were.

Things were so different compared to now.

You were still here,

We were there for each other.

You were alive,

‘Till it was your time to die.

 

Now things have changed.

Even I have changed.

I have changed so much compared to who I once was.

I remember the years, months, days,

When we used to play.

I was the kid I was supposed to be.

Before you unexpectedly left me.

Left us,

The rest of the family.

 

Now you are with others who have gone,

Including someone who has always been gone.

Gone from my life,

For the rest of my life.

No memories of them until I die.

 

Finally understanding,

Everything before.

Is like a punch to the gut.

To the heart, to the soul.

The absence of those gone,

Will never go away.

The reality of situations,

Will always stay,

 

There is more than one,

Person beneath a grave.

There is more than one,

Person behind a façade.