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Here in the dry land
We are all straggling
Surrounded by vultures
Only our private thoughts
We cling for anything
We trudge on with
Only our private love
That no one can receive
That no one will know.

Down through the dark alley
An immovable form
Stoic and steel-eyed
The insides shattering
With a voice of immaculate silence
Shedding breaths of silken warmth
That collaborate with the cold
Showing the world it lives-But
Not what for-
The greatest wars make no sounds.

Stale air fills the room
Stale thoughts file up
Desiccated skin wraps the bones
Pulling with useless terror as
The pipes pulse through the walls
Showing that there are others-But
Not who or where
And there is no one to see
The formation of a tear
That represents more than its chemical composition-
Hope-Lost-
The greatest pain casts no shadow.

The world is a mirror
The world is a stormy sea
Crippling waves make impossible
Reflection of true form
Only rippled images
Fractured and torn so
That we can only guess
And hope to act
With the surface a guide
While underneath a secret world
Holds caskets unknown.

Profoundly moving...
"The greatest wars make no sounds."...

"The greatest pain casts no shadow."

Dear JM ~

Your entire poem is forceful and profound. I was going to comment that your second and third verse clutch, but all of the verses do. I love the gripping reality and crafting of the thought that went into this poem. Excellent.

~ Elizabeth