Thicker Than Water

At the end, I didn't really comprehend
That I was saying goodbye
For the last time to all my friends and family
My only thought was flight from the mines

When it hits me, I've already
Crossed the border into higher country
Thunder and hail
Sheltered in a burned-out van
I whisper a lullaby

I press on
Keeping abreast of the dual-carriageway
Over fields asway with phantoms of wheat
It's been days now, and I haven't seen a single living
Creature besides a pair of sparring magpies

Going under ochre arches
Once the rumbling arteries of a great city
To-and-fro-ing people in their droves
Above bright streets now desolate capillaries of stone

Their laughter resounds from the shells of
Every shop, every pub, every school, every home

Within weeks I manage to find the building where
Mum and dad's earthen vessels are lain
And the dog's, and my own

With my bare fist I smash the screens
Pull their drips out and fling away their goggles
I am in bits
Half expecting them to wake
But nothing changes
I'll just have to find another way to reach them