Countdown

by ANJALEIGH HART
Staff writer

​Countdown
 
I was never quite sure
How to tell my family
That I was slowly dying
Because I would rather
Ignore it
 
How do you go about
Something as tragic as
Death, do you sit them
Down and explain that
You are leaving them
And you do not know when
 
Or do you ignore the
Inevitable truth until
The reaper is standing
Before you, with an
Outstretched arm,
Waiting for you to take
And leave forever
 
The world laughed
At me, as I stood in
My place, like a statue
But soon to be a memorial
For a girl who was too scared
And too scarred to accept
Destiny or fate or punishment
Whatever the reason
 
How do I tell them that
One day I will be here
But maybe not the next
How do I face the people
That have been there by
My side, all my life, that
I can no longer stay and
Forever is coming to an
End rather quickly
 
I breathe and count the breaths
1 2 3 4 5
1 2 3 4 5 6
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9
But I never reached ten.