i spend a night as sidewalk another as
a name in wet cement fading to live forever
the closets in the apartment above open and shut
no one lives in the apartment above
i act like i missed it
i try to let my shoulders drop
i check my watch
an attempt at silence

gravestone i find soft with moss
the reaction from touch
— another name in the stone crushed
open and shut
i check my watch
a time that requires a call home
i try to stop protecting my neck
to feel the pulse again