i didn’t stay
as i.

i remained
as what
they,
   or it,
  or silence
     left in me.

a fold—
 not of cloth,
 but of consent.

the way skin yields
 when held too long.
the way breath
 flattens
  into listening.

what remained
 wasn’t memory—
 but impression.
not thought—
 but weight.

—