echoes of nothing

in your absence
a moment of silence
stretches into eternity,
the echoes of nothing
become deafening
in the emptiness
of my bed,

and I reach
for the phone
to replay voice mails,
to hear your voice,
the softly spoken words,
and smile at the sound
of your easy laugh,

trying in vain to
end the aching,
the longing,
the undeniable hunger,
for your return.