It’s time for the conscious cares of the day to fade
The fan thrums cool against our skin.
I smooth my braid against the curve of my neck.
I adjust my Invisalign retainer and lisp I’m scared.
Perhaps ‘aware’ is a better term. That death is inevitable.
(The certainty grips my heart with a chill that may as well be fear.)
What happens to us when the component parts of our existence fall away?
The heart and the hair and the skin and the teeth of it? The conscious and rational mind?
I turn to your side of the bed but
you’re one step ahead, &
already asleep.
