Time operates quietly.
Most people pass through
without resistance.
I was thirteen
the first time a moment left before I did.
The afternoon stayed in place.
Light still on the floor.
Laughter still using the room.
But it no longer included me.
That was my introduction to time.
Everything intact.
Permission revoked.
The knowing arrived all at once.
This exact arrangement
would never assemble again.
Since then, nostalgia has learned my name.
One day,
the child you were
stops reporting for duty.
Not missing.
Dismissed.
No ceremony.
No farewell.
You don’t notice
the last time you play,
the last ordinary miracle,
until it has already
set somewhere permanent.
A few feel the pressure first.
The bend.
The thinning.
While things are still present.
Parents become elders
without announcing it.
Rooms misremember their size.
Voices arrive slightly altered.
I carry the ache
on behalf of those who move untouched,
unaware
they are already artifacts.
The year arrives.
Not new.
Just unused.
Watching
for recognition.
There is a pause.
Then everything continues
slightly altered.
Jan 5
Jan 5, 2026 at 6:58 AM UTC
Time operates quietly.
Most people pass through
without resistance.
I was thirteen
the first time a moment left before I did.
The afternoon stayed in place.
Light still on the floor.
Laughter still using the room.
But it no longer included me.
That was my introduction to time.
Everything intact.
Permission revoked.
The knowing arrived all at once.
This exact arrangement
would never assemble again.
Since then, nostalgia has learned my name.
One day,
the child you were
stops reporting for duty.
Not missing.
Dismissed.
No ceremony.
No farewell.
You don’t notice
the last time you play,
the last ordinary miracle,
until it has already
set somewhere permanent.
A few feel the pressure first.
The bend.
The thinning.
While things are still present.
Parents become elders
without announcing it.
Rooms misremember their size.
Voices arrive slightly altered.
I carry the ache
on behalf of those who move untouched,
unaware
they are already artifacts.
The year arrives.
Not new.
Just unused.
Watching
for recognition.
There is a pause.
Then everything continues
slightly altered.
