time

his feet rest

upon posthumous piles

unopened letters

sent before

the war had ended

eleventh hour appeals

promises made to god

maybe just coupons

lay sealed

unseen

amid the thousand

(i love you)s whispered

at unspeakable hours

when veils are lifted

and the face of silence

might be revealed

sent before

the history

was first written

the bodies counted

and new lines drawn

carved in flesh

illustrating boundaries

rivers and oceans

the mountains

between here and there

before

the clock was broken