concerned party

Snatches of words, underheard
understood from tone, vowels
rung and wrung, consonants
sifted by distance, obstructions
between, comprehension
coming undone, we tilt
on the brink of abysses
absurd stretching depths
unseen - but as emphasis
rises and falls, you catch

just enough to pretend
what they mean

And be satisfied: everything's turned
for the best. These lives of not yours
have met their test,
and reached through, across
a rope ladder of words

that were faithful,
and did not break
so far as you heard.