Shattered Past by Yvette Sandoval

Aged and weather beaten are his
hands. A few broken knuckles from
days gone past. His face has
the engraving of an intaglio master, and
yet the smile on his face
betrays the fact that his heart is tired.

His mind is still sharp, but tires
quickly, especially when it lingers on his
wife. The delicate contours of her face,
the lingering scent of lavender from
her evening cup of tea, and
how she never cared for all the items they had.

The children he loved, wishing he had
hugged them more. Their sweet faces tired
by the time he got home from work, and
laying their heads to rest upon his
shoulders, he carried them from
kitchen to room, while memorizing their faces.

Broken hands hold a tear stained face.
His life, his wife … kids, it had
happened so suddenly. She ran from
him one night – took the kids – all were tired.
They had argued, and out of nowhere his
hand came down upon her face, and …

“The accident happened so fast, and
they’re all gone,” the officer said, hand over face.
“I am truly sorry for your loss.” He
walked away, the broken man who had
never felt so tired
the broken man from

a hard working life. Where did he come from?
he was so happy once and
then at the age of 27 he was a tired
old man who just lost his family. His face
twisted with pain; his heart, his entire life had
shattered in a moments time, all because of him.

He remembers the pain, he remembers their faces
from those days so long ago, and he never had
the chance, for he was too tired, to say that he loved them.

*****
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Yvette Sandoval is originally from Bernalillo, New Mexico and currently lives in Albuquerque New Mexico. Yvette is a writer and Co-Founder and Partner of Community Publishing. At Community Publishing. Yvette’s specialty is graphic art and editing. Yvette has attended Central New Mexico Community College. 

Community Publishing is committed to providing a digital platform for local artists of all mediums through the creation of multimedia eBooks, while promoting literacy in our community. Community Publishing uses a “ground up” approach which emphasizes an all-encompassing collaborative method.