White paper and black ink...
It was contrast that pushed
at the bullets between us,
it was contradiction that corroded
at the edges of time.

Magnified was the doorframe,
amplified were the voices
that linked chains around assurance -
weighed down,
sink
    i
     n
      g.  

Black cherries garnished the silence,
only footsteps broke it,
unsteady pirouettes 
towards new space
to breathe.  

Inhale,
  exhale,
white paper,
  black ink.