that steady drumming gone, silence was all i needed.

and where my heart

once beat at full force

you could hear a

pin drop.

you'd driven a nail

right through

the center

with a crack and a pop.

the lines you once

traced over my chest

have grown old but the

skin still raw.

i ached again

for your touch but i

wanted to get better-

without you, i was, i saw.