Agreeing tenses

And the afternoon  
crept in slowly  
like a sleepy rain.  
It felt suffocating,  
as though tightly knotted ties  
would no longer let us breathe.  

Oppressive and sultry,  
the warm breeze  
did nothing to refresh.  
The heaviness of  
atmosphere and weather  
stifled us both.  
 
I needed to escape;  
to breathe.  
 
To breathe once more!  
I raced to your side.  
Flowers adorned your body.  
Words hung feverishly around you.  
 
The news arrived in due course;  
bullet points and commas  
twisting in the air  
above you.  
 
Over your body:  
lapidary stones.  
All around you:  
newspapers recounted  
details, deaths and remains.  
 
Over your body,  
fragments of clothing.  
over your body  
sulphuric acid.  
Your beautiful skin.