do you understand
how far a whisper travels
when you mutter
to the darkness
do you know –
of another
not so distant
not the least of far away
who shutters from the depths
that calm her soul

contented in belonging
sometimes the lonely boards
are pressed beneath her pacing
was here
you surely passed
watching for some evidence
she wonders
do you hear
an echo of a murmur –
not her last

. . .