fade

no door closed,

no words left behind,

just a silence stretching, a presence thinning 

a name I no longer say.

ember

the warmth of an almost-touch
outlives the fire of bodies spent.

softer than skin,

quieter than longing,
louder than what was never said.

her fingers traced 

the rim of her steaming coffee cup 

as she gazed out the window 

of her 21st-floor apartment. 

the city pulsed, unbothered. 

the house clung to her, unwilling to let go.