The Sudden Quiet

He said sorry,

a quick puff of air,

like a habit, no hurry,

nothing to repair.

And then I saw it,

the cheap sound,

the empty fit

of words unbound.

And I remembered the scrape,

the bitter taste on my tongue,

the quiet escape

of pride, unstrung.

The heavy silence after,

when the air itself seemed thick,

no easy laughter,

just the slow, hard click

of something shifting

inside my chest,

a heavy lifting,

finally laid to rest.