When They're All Gone

When They're All Gone

The house still stands, the walls remain,

But silence settles like the rain.

The voices that once filled each room

Have vanished softly into gloom.

The chair still sits beside the door,

Though no one rocks there anymore.

The pictures hang upon the wall,

Remembering faces I can't call.

The holidays still come each year,

But bring more memories than cheer.

The laughter fades, the tables shrink,

Leaving too much time to think.

One by one they slipped away,

Like autumn leaves on a windy day.

And all the names I held so dear

Now echo only in my ear.

The world keeps turning, people pass,

While I keep staring through the glass.

Watching families gather near,

Holding what I used to have here.

No mother waits, no father calls,

No footsteps travel down these halls.

No grandparents with tales to share,

Just empty rooms and vacant air.

Yet in the quiet, I can find

The traces that they left behind.

For though they're gone, their love remains,

Flowing softly through my veins.

And when I'm sitting all alone,

I realize I'm not on my own.

For every lesson, laugh, and tear

Is proof that they are still right here.

Though all that's left may seem like me,

A solitary branch upon the tree,

The roots below still hold me fast—

Connected always to my past.