One minute I wait. I wonder how long it will go one for this time? For a minute can stretch out across the vast spaces between us all, strings of words reaching into the distance, wrapping us all up. Slashes at my skin as the clock ticks by, never stopping, but never getting to where it needs to be. One minute? Forever. One second? Too long. It is never a short enough time before everything strikes up again, raging on into the night only to fall silent again as Stalin demands a minute of silence. The heavy hand clicks over and my solitude is ended, but alas, I have nothing left to say, so silence endures. Tragic? No, just hilarious. Laughter echoes into the darkness.