No. 10 and No. 12

the breaks and
the stops

are so important.

it is what isn't
said.
in the middle.

the beat between
pauses.

without words.

the stopping
and breaking off.

the real dialogue
lives there.
lies are born there,
in that blank white space
between the comma and the next letter.

in the middle.

in the blanks,
in the inhales and exhales.

don't speak to me.

i don't need to hear your words.

i need to hear
the truth between them.

i know if i listen,
very carefully,
to the spiraling shell of the middle
i will hear the waves of the truth,
crashing and breaking
over the next word rocky word you speak.