Permanent

Silence amplified
A light goes out across the state
The last it’ll ever see
Breathing in cigarette smoke
Still cleaner than the air
No tears, no sorrow, nothing
The emptiness of one’s own truth
Surrounded by lies
Strung out city lights black out the sky
No point in looking north
No point at all
One last chance as people drive by
But they keep moving
Nothing to see
A ghost, nothing more
Caught between dirt and breath
Beckoned home to finally get some rest
Body tremors, reaching for the door
A soft ringing begins
The kind that’s hidden in depth
Thoughtless, mission driven
Enter in through stage left
A car engine is turned over
Hands once shaken
Now steady on the wheel
Breathe in, breathe out
No more wounds left trying to heal
A lone tear lingers on a cheek
Such loneliness in disbelief
Final minutes coming to decide
Seventeen and a half was all it took
To smother a life