WELL VERSED: Listen

I hear his voice
Calling the crowd to his family
As he cradles them in the mud
Fighting the long defeat of pain
The war of death

Can you hear him?
His voice is loud, marred by torn breaths,
Sobs, and an aching cough this week
The distance? It's not his but yours
To cross, to come

He's crying out!
His pleas beat at night on your heart
And find your mind while you sit reading
And resonate, shaking, up your spine
You know his voice