Vainglorious Ending

The whole world longs to fill itself up with drama, Even a child’s learning to tie his shoelaces Could occupy several long minutes, easily; And a divorce could hold our attention till afternoon, Until the cascade of emotions has frozen over more solidly And when the motion ceases, there is much less to be noticed. A spoon’s casual relationship with the China Is best remembered by acoustic clanging noises; A knife, as it pierces some flesh, Muting it to the same tonal key As the screams that echo off the black, polished metal Of a casket passing quietly beside us, While the deeper silence stays locked inside it, The reversed sounds of an entire lifetime Condensed down to the muffled scrabblings Of a few rooting insects.