Out of Time

They’ve stopped asking the questions

You can see them thinking 

The words swirl and dance through the air

Simultaneously said and yet unspoken

You feel like a moldy leftover

Long past expiry 

Uncoupled, childless 

With no shared present territory

energy or currency with which to trade. 

In the hand-drawn photo of your family

You are the sun some kid drew in the corner 

There, but tiny and far away 

Your instinct is to defend yourself 

Cut through the unsaid 

With a shattered mirror 

Raised back to reflect the answers

To their unasked questions

Consider: the mosaic you’ve cobbled together  

Something they call a ruin

Something you call life

It doesn’t matter anymore 

Blame will not create the life you want 

Nor will waiting to be noticed by them

It hurts only because you let it

You wonder if you can see everyone’s 

thoughts or just theirs 

The night air imprints goosebumps on your skin

August feels like the end of September

Feels like something is ending  

You can read eternity’s thoughts

hear her speaking to you

Time is speeding up 

Maybe it’s for the best

we get this all over with soon