over & over  

but here i am, raking 

in a breath, another 

.

everyone is fine

but my heart 

feels sharp whilst adjusting

my sitting position 

i try to massage it with 

a finger in the slit 

below my collarbone   

. 

the person i loved 

laughed yearned for 

will never be alive again

death snapped 

that branch of memory 

& everything feels 

tainted now, grayer 

.

(11/8/25)