Dolce/Fortissimo

Pervasive,
shattering silence
steals the ozone from the room
and forces it into the cracks
in the walls with grinding measure
and beats out a dissonance
that pulls
a cry from a chest,
a sob from a heart.

No sound is heard above the
piercing, grating silence.

No words can fit in the jagged
gap it creates.

Thought has been edged out,
reason replaced.

Loud enough
to dampen the sounds
of the outside world,
the screaming silence is -

White
Noise
New
Light
Drawn
Shades
Good
Night
Day
Time
Promise
Gone
Scream
Song
Lives
Long