Lasting Sound

Leaving out words in select
Moments,
I cooled her desire for
Songs. She would whisper
Quiet feelings in my ear,
And I would only
Hear.
I hadn't learned to listen.

Then, the time came.
We
Had made passionless love--
The kind we make to pass
Time--and when
I asked her if she
Lived,
Her answer was silent.
Lips that curled and trembled
With no sound.
I had taken her
Voice
Away.

Days passed, silent like
Under the
Sea.
Her sighs were like mournful
Breezes
Over ponds of
Tears.
She broke
Her soul stretching
Her throat for one last
Song.

I buried her. She
Wouldn't let me
Glue her
Back
Together. It wasn't my
Place to
Decide
Her fate.

Under moonlight, on her
Grave,
I whisper soundless
Melodies.
Call it redemption; I call it
Keeping a promise.
With each song I cannot
Sing, her memories live the life
I
Took from
Her.