subterranean

and the words didn't do it
didn't tell the years
like a clock or a novel, they
failed to circumscribe -

the well was too deep
and the pressure too strong
for them to force their way 
down, describe

the tears, the dreams, and
the unopened boxes
all the bruised shins
from trying to stand -

the open hands and the closed
fists in the face - the pen
traced the line where
the words should have been

but they didn't join so
they made no sense and
spoke silence instead of sound
the inarticulate mouth

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