The Walk

by Madison Hunsicker

We take turns screaming into the void.

Occasionally knocking on the wall between what separates

Do you need water? Food?

I continue forward

She lags behind.

She falls behind.

I stop

The wailing begins,

We become banshees of our own creation

Forever following in loss

Fear

Depression

Anxiety

Only coming in step once a moon

Memories bang into our subconscious

They loved me then

The ghosts scream

What have I done to deserve this

We must continue

As trapped as we are

Our memories scarify

Replacing what we know

Who we loved

Who didn’t love us

Maybe not in a way we would have been able to recognize

They whisper

She crawls now

Breath heaving

Trading between screaming and vomiting

Struggling to stand

A baby unsure of its limbs

We are dragged into a new dawn

Until another falls

And we stop and grieve

Madison Hunsicker ‘26 is pursuing her degree in forensic science while minoring in biology. She loves to bake and read.