At Midnight, Listening

Something small told me to wait in silence, but the bitter voice of my heart's scars kept mourning every aching wound that cried out at the mottled shadows of the night, and that bitter voice of my heart's scars said I was broken far beyond repair. In the mottled shadows of the night, I could not choose which darkness to believe, whether “You are broken beyond repair,” or “Hold on a little while; these wounds will mend” held truth. How could I choose in darkness? And from behind more voices murmured at me: “Hold on, hold on to what? Your wounds won't mend,” my splintered bones choked out. A laugh came from the voices murmuring at me, because that something small had tried to speak, but my splintered bones choked out a laugh to silence any sound that whispered hope. Because that something small had tried to speak, the others cried out louder, but they only clamored over sounds that still whispered hope; they filled the insides of my ears with lies, but soon they tired of crying, till only the song of night rain washing tired streets was left to cradle lies inside my ears. I heard that haunting pulse within my ribs: the song of night rain washing tired streets said these scars would never fade (though I thought I felt a different pulse behind my ribs, a gentle touch almost enough to heal)-- These scars will never fade, I thought, but something small told me to wait in silence.