Scattered Ashes

Scattered Ashes

By Aryssa Washington

The swirl of ashes gently caress the air we breathe,

the ground on which we walk.

In a silent slow dance, we move with the cadence of time

Hands linked at birth, we dance

I twirl, you hold on, you spin me around

You lead, I follow.

Hands twined by life, bound together, broken by death

I lose your hand

You meld into the dancing ashes,

All that’s left–you tinkling my fingers,

Covering my tears, my smile, my heart

Hands ripped from the grip of another

The connections severed, the love faded, the future ruined

I stand still

Hiding movement from the ashes pulling at my heart to dance

Another hand captures mine, another dance slowly begins

Whether I move or not the dance of death pushes me in motion

Pulls at me to dance among the ashes

The river of death flows through the hand linked to mine, linked to someone else’s

We are connected by the eventuality of the fall

Twinkling ashes slowly drawing us under, into the mist

Turning us to dust

A slow dance, A quick pace

The beauty of life in death

A dance from living to ashes, leaving trails, pulling at my hands

My feet begin to move

I twirl

I slowly dance again

You hold my hand, I spin you around

I lead, you follow

Slowly swirling to scattered ashes.