Krystalnacht smashes glassy ears
but louder is the silence  

boxcars of Jews roll along click-click
down train tracks through the Black Forest
but louder is the silence  

Trump waves the Bible upside-down
police shoot rubber bullets and tear gas
Black Hawk helicopters circle like vultures
but louder is the silence  

Silence can be sorted from other sounds:
it has no echo              
                          it crushes but doesn’t deafen
it has the gravitational pull of a black star
and stretches through centuries past and future 
like an ogre’s arms after a long, long nap