~
                         He knew in his heart there was nowhere to go.
                         He knew with his eyes there was nothing to know.
                         He knew with his hands there was nobody there
                         He knew from his lies there was no one to spare.

                         He listened but didn't hear
                         He saw but didn't look

                         There was nothing for him
                         Naught in the air
                         not a thought, not a limb
                         that he could feel
                         that he could conjure
                         He was desperately calm
                         and there was nothing to listen

                         It might be a city
                         it might be a glade
                         It might be a person
                         it might be a blade

                         It was the same, the same
                         the same without saying
                         Without anything.
                         it was all the same
                         He had himself
                         and himself was fraying

                         he wasn't swimming
                         they weren't moving
                         he was unseeing
                         they saw the bench

                         A bench?
                         No, he was sure
                         absurdly unsure of nothing

                         Why was he trying?
                         He wasn't trying.
                         He could feel his limbs
                         but they didn't belong to him
                         Is this it?
                         The bench
                         It's always the same
                         Yes, he thought,
                         it is the same
                         The bench
                 Nothing ceasing didn't matter
                 Hands and lips, fluttering
                 fluttering on, eyes staring on
                 There was nobody, nowhere
                         The bench.
                 Nothing.
              What did he know?
           What did his hands hide?
       The moving statues, were they the same?
                         The bench!
   No-
                         The bench!
Wait!--