Silence latches on

To the ends of half-finished sentences

Eyes dart towards the ground,

Lips fumble to remedy

The gap a locked gaze would wordlessly reveal

This pause

Another second would strangle us both

Ticking, ticking, ticking,

The clock chimes menacingly

Winds fade to whisper as distance creeps in

Ensnaring, encircling,

He snakes in quietly

’Til mouths turn to stone

And tongues taste resentment

Did I say too much?

Did I do something wrong?

Tell me what I said. Tell me what went wrong.

The marble hardens,

The talons sharpen,

The hush encases us in cold, shiny armour

Insidious and snarling,

He growls and he grows

Your name now a set of senseless sounds  

Your face now an alien alignment

Why won’t you say anything?

Why won’t you do anything?

Why don’t you care?

Eyes meet, instinct

Our defeated gazes loudly confess

Those exhausted eyes too tired to dart

Parched throats too worn to protest

What happened?

Why can’t we stop this?

Why don’t you care?

Finally, the clock strikes its last hour

The ticking stops,

The silence speaks

Everything here lies unsettled,

Unsolved

And so I retreat

Just say something, anything!

Do you even care?

Why don’t you care?

Did you ever even care?

With a sole, clean swipe,

Warmth returns to my veins

Tingling, violent

Frozen fingers come unstuck

The blood has been cleared,

I flee without defeat

And in my armour I lie,

I will not wait for you to speak.