there’s a softness to the drumming of a breath
the halting of the chest at the top of an inhalation
the release that follows shortly after

there’s a loudness to the crying of a soul
darkness exudes at journey’s end
or is it the other way around?

still, heaven falls at every whisper of your name
no matter how sharp or faint
and while ashes rise and rise, I sigh until
the last, the very last complaint