people are always dying.


and there is a silence in death


where the only words uttered


are in our own minds


trying to stave a meltdown.





that final gasp and the echo


that resonates from spine to spirit


to sleep


live in memory


live in scent and linger


in your eyelashes


and on the tip of your tongue


until you wipe the tears gone


and swallow the grief.





but the dead can't bury themselves,


and the living can't find solace


in letting them go.





and in my meltdown


gasping, echoing,


slipping myself into the grave


i find the coffin uncomfortable.


and i can't sleep without a heartbeat.

07/10/2006

Posted on 07/10/2006
Copyright © 2025 Aaron Michael