Silence

by Jaleesa Coates

I hate the sound of silence between heartbeats
I must revive with the remembrance of love
The painful sound of absence—I cannot stand, it defeats

Rekindling devotion as if a great feat
A whispered prayer of need, a plea I sent up above
I hate the sound of silence between heartbeats

The pain grows now as the silence repeats
A shout in vain, that none will hear unless I shove
The painful sound of absence—I cannot stand, it defeats

My echo falls on your deaf ears—a painful defeat
A taciturn heart, I soon fear comes a dying love
I hate the sounds of silence between heartbeats

I beg you, hands out for your fading heart’s beats
But to find a hollow vessel, irrevocably desolate of love
The painful sound of absence—I cannot stand, it defeats
​
To nothing we linger on opposite streets
The void, the chasm widening of deadened love
I hate the sounds of silence between heartbeats
The painful sound of absence—I cannot stand, it defeats

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Jaleesa Coates is a poet who transplanted to Baltimore, Maryland, from Phoenix, AZ. Her writing explores themes such as memory, loss, power, and inner transformation in a symbolic way. She has recently taken up writing poetry in her free time from her pharmacy job.