Old hopes
Conversed
In hushed tones
Or not at all

The maddening
Clock ticks
Inflaming
A sense of urgency
The pungent suffocating
Stench of death
Draws closer
And surrounds

How unsettling it is
For the sun to
Keep shining

Smiles
On their faces
Do they not see
The troubles
The shade of ruin
Impregnating the skies

Bound by limitations
And yet all they perceive
Are iridescent rainbows  
In a world without hue.