seared shut by a split atom flash  
the world instantly cauterized from view  

gasping for breath
in the Zyklon showers at Auschwitz

or riddled with rounds from an M-16  
bleeding slowly, with lids flickering
in the fading jungle light  

all enter a new form of night  
where no sound can revive
the once glassy stare    
we all deigned to share  
when the world was still
a blessed blink away