we scream in the silence

and no one hears us,

crickets chirp around us

and we pretend they're human,

we pretend they understand our pain.

maybe they dream in grayscale,

too,

maybe they count secrets like

stars, and maybe their body shakes

with anxious thoughts held in.

maybeit gets too much sometimes,

and maybe

they sound inhuman when they cry, and maybe

they realize that crying only makes you

Empty.