Chances

There is no way of telling if you hear or not;
somewhere along the line in one direction or another
nerves are snapped or synapses blocked
and all that is left is the obligation to talk;
though you distract us, steer us off course
with your jerking, fly-catching, claw-hooked hands
or the rolling of your bony head, one way,
one way or another.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxWe have spoken with you,
we have all served time at the edge of your abyss,
knelt beside your bed’s barriers,
talking into that space you may or may not be in;

and it is exhausting, exhausting being a conduit of love,
from the world to you.
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxI take hold of your hand
and as cold as it is and as tired as I am I continue talking.

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