After the Wake

May 04, 2005

This stillness imposed-
belies the fragility of the silence enclosing it.
Like a glass casket,
the mistiness of breath lies
tantalizingly on the other side

A face hovers,
expectant for the slightest sign-
a fluctuation, a heaving.
No resilience is needed to linger,
there is nothing else to do-

but wait until-

warmth trickles,
and melts the mist.
Slivers of water spill over the edge,
pooling into the ground.
So far, the only movement-

and the sound of footsteps,
slipping away like a farewell
for eyes that will see nothing,
from what can never be buried
but is neither alive.

blue rogue