Staccato

The drooping eyelids
The not quite sallow skin
The half smile in a souless grin

The unhealthy breath
The thinning hair
The burden
Of life to bear

The downs are written
Upon her face
The joys are hidden in the gloom

The sadness in her eyes
Projects
Nothing
Nothing
Just doom

Each step forward
Reveals a past
Not welcome
But still received

Longing for forward
Belonging to the past
Hopeless
For hope
As a flower to a weed