january third time

i would like to pinpoint
the exact difference
between sadness and sorrow.

it is a quiet distinction
that mews and murmurs
in the night.

sadness is a broad,
shallow thing that bleeds
into all cavities:
it is stretched fingers
with no premeditated shape.

sorrow is reed-like:
it is pointed and deep
and perennial; taking root
only in the tiny nook
between the lung and the heart.

you can diagnose the species
of tragedy based on the weight
and pitch of each cry
wrenched. this is the work
of singers, writers, and
small, lonely gods.