it's palpable

drums that sound like far off thunder
roll into the end of something
reminding me of an evening
when someone I knew felt younger
because of wrinkles still hidden
under pounds of missing skin
caressed by an old boyfriend
on the other side of town
and when she called from the train
she didn't start crying
when she thought I'd hung up
hiccoughing into static
while the people around her whispered.