The fading betrayal

After so long you might as well
forgive. The anger is hard
to bank in fading grayish coals.
Little heat, little danger.
You smile, bored.

Once that anger was a rod
of sun colored molten steel
replacing bone in your back.
It was the noise kept you
awake all night;

it was the light that woke
you every morning scratching
on your lids, your own rooster
crowing in your belly, rise
and seek revenge.

Now you can take his hand
soft as it always was,
cool as you might remember
on your thigh, but everything
has sunk into the ground.

You are voyagers sharing
a bus, avoiding eye contact.
You speak different languages.
You almost miss your anger,
but the silence caresses you.