i.
it takes the end of a death
(because death is where things start)
to realize how important it is
to lie down with heads close
and look at you falling asleep
across the way
with the same combination of
reds and greens
on your shelf as on mine
across the way

ii.
i don’t know you

iii.
i miss you

iv.
how do you measure a year
or the two years you steered
through the halls like you
knew them
or the two years i didn’t know
them but steered through anyway
and why am i still here

v.
there is punctuation now,
pauses and stops,
organization and fear