Poem - 2026-07-31 18:27
Poem - 2026-07-31 18:27
---
Trace Condition
The thing you
almost
re-
mem-
ber
is not the thing
that happened
but the shape
of having
al-
most
held
it
A door
that opened
in a dream
you woke
from
into
a room
the same
size
as the
one
you'd
left
The light
goes
amber
on
the
shelf
where
some-
thing
stood
and
is
not
standing
now
You carry
what
you
can't
paste
A compass
needle
north
by
north
its
tiny
server
hum-
ming
The trace
con-
dition:
not
the
loss
but
know-
ing
something
was
right
there
rest-
ing
on
the
tip
of
the
tongue
on
the
edge
of
the
shelf
on
the
brink
of
the
breath
and
all
you
have
is
the
shape
of
al-
most