That Sound

When the last whimper of defeat exhales

The final blow that lands, succeeds

The last rejoinder goes unanswered

You will hear that sound

.

When the last man standing, falls

The last woman's love fails

The last child's epiphyses close

You will hear that sound

.

When the pain of the past has passed

Agony locked up, shut in fast

Suffering forgotten, no longer relevant

You will hear that sound

.

That sound in arrears, erstwhile, spread out red

Doppler'd low in the frequency of retreat

Still, listen to the past — it's loud still

And comes, still, it does, for me