I stood in the empty hallway and listened to your music,
Wafting out the open door.
I stood like I'd been paused, a still life painting, a stone wall,
I considered my feet, like lead.
I considered the steps they could take.
I considered walking in and telling you that this morning
You were the first person I chose to speak to with my voice
All day.
I considered the feeling in my gut,
An instinct, however inexplicable,
A warning bell whose vibrations I'd been bathed in for 24 hours, that made me stay away so utterly.
I stood long, until the song had nearly ended,
But ultimately when my decision reached its fingers round my ankles,
It yanked me away,
And, careful, I fabricated my usual gate-
Rhythmic footfalls
As if I'd just gotten up the stairs, right then,
And hadn't frozen in the middle of the hall
In an agony of gravity versus apprehension
For all those moments.