The Dividends of Misplaced Sympathy

empathy simmers in the fitful parody of loss. the slender contrition of absent gods. 

the wind holds its breath. the sun closes its eyes. as we divide what remains of this flesh. 

cowed by the certainty of touch  exposed by love's loose buttons. 

the nail bends because the hammer is too heavy. 

we pinch the wound. spoiled by the blood. dispensed in ugly lessons. as time wrestles with the stubborn zippers under our skin. 

the ceiling collapses because the sky is too dense. 

everything is quiet. all our words stolen by the distance. 

we wait. 

stubborn warts festering on tomorrow's lips. 

the song ends because there's no one listening anymore.