Recollections of childhood—
Each fighting for breath.
The beauty and the horror—
Enduring life’s test. 

Gunshots and flowers— Evil wrestles innocence.
Both entwined in one heart,
Screaming to make sense.

Mom snapping photos
Of tulips and me.
Fight flashes of fear—
Being lost among trees.

Discovering mortality—
Beauty and life both exist.
Yet the reaper of death
Will demand his cold kiss.

Looming waves of the ocean
Touch soft colors in the sky—
Fear melts into glory
Adding lessons for life.