You

You--

… let us imagine two other bodies. And that my soul was the shadow of itself--and that yours was not fossilized, and pressed safely into the sediment. Let me imagine stronger shoulders--yes, and slimmer hips.

That I could carry you. That you didn’t want to be carried.

Where the street ended--I still remember. The desert night, damp and cool. The shiver that--

--rolled through the flesh and threw up the soul. I still hear you in the echo--

of my actions, the corner of my memory. I cannot hear a word, remember your voice, your face--

--surely only hands. The weight and the heat. I remember my own response. Only reactions--

--the string once struck

thrums, leaning against the chair. Long after the room was empty. And the neck was set down.