The Song and the Silence

The song was like static sometimes,
stormy and hard to hear,
but always sticking in my mind.

The choruses of promises
echo in my head.
Verse one, soft and simple,
a single guitar.
"I will"
(means you won't).

Verse two, haunting and hopeful,
drum beating with my heart.
"But only, not now.
Next time,
next note."

The strings,
singing of all those things
you thought would bring you home,
make you whole.
Snap.
Silence the song.

The choir and the quiet intertwine.
Only dead air keeping time.
Now,
I'm counting off the minutes gone by
after
the moment
the final
note
died.
The silence is
harder to
hear.