i can not be
quiet enough
to allow your wounds to heal
please let's not
don't break a heart
unable to feel
it condescends
in a tattered way
that falters and bends
to and from the aftermath
a slow, sweeping prose
that loses its mind
as you take off your clothes
i can not be silent
as you feel for the door
trying to take a bow
make an exit, once more
i follow the footsteps
back to the wall
remind myself why i may have
followed you at all
in a manic panic that
always falls short
of the cord or the answer
or the reasons why
i can't be enough
to tell you i love you, or cry
so in this non-quiet,
non-silent defense
i'll follow along
and forge my pretense
to the numb, dumb singing
somewhere in the wall
where you made your exit
and i made the call
two seconds too late
to be more quiet
to let you go
to cry sometime
to let you know.