LITERATE APE

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The Sadness and the Quietness

By Elizabeth Harper

the sadness
that is people

the sadness of wanting to die
but being compelled to live

the sadness of
being surrounded
by hateful strangers

a problem of theory of mind

inability to recognize
one’s own species


the quietness
that is fury

the rage that
simmers silently

a force to wake the dead
rip them from their graves
turned on itself

a hammer hitting its own head

a tongue growing teeth
biting itself