The wailing in the background

To the broken mirror in the corner

Sirens screaming in the streets

The drops splashing the floor of the ceramic tiles

The “plonk” of the inevitable tragedy

Listening to the child screaming

The lights are flickering

The piping for the sink is broken

Water soaking the entire room

Listen to the canary sing

She’s being drowned out

Listen to the paramedics

They’re screaming terms I don’t know

At the time

Their words were blurs

The world has turned black

The black steel-toed boots shook the house

The wheels echoing through the hallways

The crash as they rush out the door

Screams tear through the air as she rolls off the stretcher

Glass and flowers spraying the ground

Stinging pain shoots across her lower body

She’s fading

She’s not being helped

She’s crashing into the glass and roses

She’s letting her child down

She’s letting me down

But those are just details