Lost

Did defeat
indeed
taste bitter?

Or was it
more akin
to ashes
on the tongue?

— Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, "The Fall"

Still

The quiet in the house
after lunch was
of such density
that it nearly
stopped the clocks.

— Jonathan Franzen, "The Corrections"

Evasion

Do you miss him?

My divorce is the great unhappiness of my life.

That's an answer, Brian said.
But not to my question.

— Jonathan Franzen, "The Corrections"