I did not wail when you died,
did not stop my breath,
nor strike the clock
that hour
nor tear my sleeve abreast.
Tears did not overtake my guise
my heart did not stab with ache.
The sun still shown and wind still
whirled
the fallen leaves still raked.
Yet in my bones and in my depth
the brutal message cried,
severing every thread of joy
I clasped
under the winter sky.
