Conversation

Cliches fall from your mouth
As readily as judgments
The ears receiving are 
Wary of false compliments
And empty promises
Which indicate only your fear
Of falling into your own trap
Always talking, talking
Over the top of me
Talking, talking
Never ceasing
Never stopping
To listen
Or learn
Never budging
Never leaving
A gap
Or silence
Just breathe for a beat
And let me in
Before the platitudes
Multiply and murder conversation

Evacuation

Hosing gutters
Filling sinks
Watching news
While packing
When it starts
The tiny hands
Squeezing my heart
The distant voices
Pulling my focus

How can I miss you?
You were never even here
How can I protect you?
You were never more than a hope
How can I recreate you?
You were always more than I dared

And so I continue
Collecting photographs 
Which show only your absence
Folding outfits 
For me alone
And yet your screams deafen me
As the smoke engulfs the valley
And I don't look back
As the flames race away
Illuminating the hilltop