when life falls apart

it's a small
hole,
a tiny germ,
a microbe.
an almost invisible
crack
in
the glass
that sets things
wrong, causes life
to fall
apart.

when the end is near,
it's not
a bang
or cry,
or yell that you
hear,

it's a whimper,
a sigh,
a breath
going out, hardly
a sound slipping
into a warm
fevered ear.