It’s deafening,
this silence in the bones,
in the skin, in the guts,
in the tick-tock of the second hand
that punishes, and punishes
the only intrusion
that ties me to this space,
to this moment,
to this fire that burns
and doesn’t stop,
doesn’t extinguish,
only grows and is heat and light
that shines and casts a shadow,
blessing and curse at the same time
to be here and there simultaneously,
to belong to you in freedom,
to belong to you out loud,
to belong to you in silence.