Secrets of Silence

A mouth sewn shut,
stinging tears reminders of the stitches.
Drowning in a sea of words
flailing with no voice.

A yell wanting an answer,
no words come out.

Glints of darkness, more words are joined to the thunderous roar.
The mouth won't open; one voice kept silent.

A joke wanting laughter,
no noise is made.

When the time comes around,
the stitches remain, hurting in a familiar
thump, thump rhythm so familiar
to a throat dry and a mouth so parched.

Yet in the storm no one has noticed
that one is missing,
lost in the clamour for attention the eyes still weep, the body backs
into a corner, smaller, out of the way:
out of sight, out of mind.

Did you notice in the first place,
when the stitches were sewn?