difference

today i am thinking about the difference
between testimony and witness
and that difference
may mean more to you
than it does to me
and that difference
may need to mean more
to me than it does to you
 
here is the proof: the story
as shared binds us both
to history, the language of loss
we circle each other
and it is not a dance
there is no joy here
the evidence keeps working
its way to the surface
 
there is only so much listening
we can endure