An empty mantle

A full house

Devoid of affection

Hidden affliction

Walls lined with hollow frames

An empty home

They laugh and smile

Never crying, never sad

Plastic expressions eternally frozen

Their silence lies in the liveliness

A full house

An empty home

Plastic picture frames

Decorated walls and an empty mantle

No one notices the blood in the bath

Or the traces of fine, white snow on the pristine furniture

No one seems to fucking care

That a full house

Does not guarantee

A happy home

Cover image by National Cancer Institute on Unsplash. The copyright of this piece belongs to the author of this literary work.  

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