Nicole Johnson

I remember the day you stood up and stretched out your arm to hold my hand.
You assured me that everything would be OK—
But something didn’t seem to sink in.
My hands were shaking as the ground beneath me crumbled around my feet.
Your hand tightened around mine as the world we once knew blew up into a puff of smoke.
You promised that you would never leave my side—
Why did you lie?
I watched as the world before me slowly began to disintegrate within the flames, leaving tarnished bones behind.
Our houses left within the rubble along with the memories.
I walked through the streets, inhaling the ash from the buildings.
The smell of burning flesh almost made me lose my grip on reality.
A reality now stricken with gasoline-filled dreams.
You assured me that I wouldn’t be alone.
Where has your absent mind disappeared to now?