Season of Death

The chill swept through
Away it went
Voice sang upon it
Twist and twirl the sounds collide
With the screams and sobs of a million wet eyes
While laughter bubbles and joy sings
The coldness continues to ring
And carry away breath by breath
Stealing heat
Stilling chest
One by one the beloved fall
Family and friends
The season refuses to spare any at all
Some have lasted in time
Some are still young as can be
But take and take 
This season steals around me

The ice holds the smell of hospital beds
Of cleaners so thick that they mess with my head
Mourning sobs
Aching wails
Take over for the fading carols 
Diseas or drugs or perhaps a bad day
Sweep life after life away
Some are marked for death in winter hours
While others the cold slowly devours
The season drags a heavy weight
Even if bodies remain the soul may not stay
Year after year
Snow after snow
I watch another go
And one year in the past
Weighed heavier than last
As three lives were struck away 
And two more were marked for the grave

I watch them fight
I hear their cries
I know the light dies from their eyes
And here I stay to listen and see
Not given a moment to catch my breath
In this season of death