AFTER THE GUNS HAVE CEASED, THE SILENCE SOARS
To fill the shattered air with absent sounds:
An arc of emptiness envelops those
In whose exhausted heads the hell still roars,
In whose half-deafened ears the blood still pounds,
And holds them like a bubble that might burst
At any time, or simply not at all –
Not while this shocking moment still resounds,
This longed-for, dreaded moment as the foes
On both sides hear the beating of their hearts
And know they’ll beat tomorrow and tomorrow
And tomorrow … while the silence grows.

First published in Acumen, May 2007

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