how is it that
your quiet limbs drown
in their sea of sleep
heavy with childlike refusal
to move like they did before

when rain taps
at your window
with a thousand fingertips
can you remember
how it feels on skin
can you feel it
because you used to

i ask because
i cannot see the brave
in your face anymore
but answers will not put feeling
where feeling used to be
regardless
i ask