It's Still Life

05 Liturgy for the Unintended
(for the moment the ear catches what the heart was not meant to hold)

I. The Ear That Catches What Was Not Meant
It begins with a moment,
an answer,
a voice that carries words
with information
It arrives
before you can close your ears.

You did not seek it.
You did not want it,
but now it is yours

and it grows in your chest,
and you cannot unhear it.

II. Knowledge That Becomes a Weight
At first,
you can carry it lightly.
You tell yourself it is nothing,
an unintentional word,
a moment of no consequence.

But the knowledge settles.
It presses against your ribs,
whispers in your quieter hours,
and changes shape.

You question what you heard.
You question what you’re thinking.
You question why it was said.

And you cannot let it go.
It is now part of you,
a splinter
you can’t pull out.

III. The Reckoning That Follows
The ache is
like water.
It always finds a crack

and then makes you bleed.
And now you are holding
what was not yours to hold.

For the Unintended Listener
Listen to the one who spoke,
but heed the one who listened.

The space between them,
carries the weight
of what was told.

Be grace and wisdom,
and know which is which.