Lost

Did defeat
indeed
taste bitter?

Or was it
more akin
to ashes
on the tongue?

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

Listening

Parthenia's silences outlasted
her sentences every time,
and carried greater weight.

How will their tongue survive
in a modern world, where the talkers
rush to trample every pause?

— Barbara Kingsolver, "The Lacuna"