Ardent Obituaries

everything was close. in that callously exemptive way that all grief gathers. the moment not quite there. yet excrutiatingly near.

the silence spun. kinetic and untamed. her flesh the tether. her want the clasp.

everything was fading. the colors going deaf. the bridges choking on the rigor of perspective.

ache simmered. all cliffs and ropes. counting their empty hours. in soiled blankets and knots undone.

the puzzle swelled. trembling with the solution.

the rain fell lightly. the sun never shone.