days after the drowning when companion villages

raised the memory of their various dead,

and boats and blame were re-examined,

and officials packed up, exhausted,

dredging out certificates and compensations;

one evening when the wails had stilled the sky

like ghost singers fading out, and the lamp

reached the threshold like any other evening,

the old woman hobbled out, muttering her prayers

and cursing each member of her family

for leaving her alone,

unaware of the reason

for the terrible silence in the house

that invaded even her deafness.