Undelivered Letters @ The Hague

Piles of time, preserved—inky voices
     She sat a desk like this
stilled but for angle or curve of a word
     by candle and inkpot
wanting to mean but never received
     quill-scratching her heart
pleas and declarations, like bones
     life beating hard, alone
sealed in a box

Inspired by this article about a recently discovered box of 17th-century letters–never delivered.