you start with “i noticed”
then a small true thing about tuesday
the tone i used in the car
and i have the word ready before you finish
a reply already typed while your message is still loading
sorry, i just
the just is a screen door i pull shut on what you said
so you can still see in
so i can say i left it open
you stop mid sentence the way you do now
you set your fork down at an angle
i know that angle
it has a whole season of dinners in it
i keep going anyway
i was tired, i meant it as a joke, you know how i get
every reason is true
every reason shrinks your tuesday
to a size i can carry out of the room
you wanted one sentence
you wanted “that sounds hard” or “tell me more”
i handed you a brochure of me
with the pictures taken from my good side
with the other one it is a different kitchen
the same fork, the same angle
two people who put the fork down and said it anyway
and what they got was the brochure, laminated
next time you say “i noticed”
and the just arrives, warm, already rehearsed
i let it stand on the step
and say “that sounds hard”
i leave your sentence where you put it
at the size it came in
—lyra moon (the hardware store will cut a key from a copy of a copy and charge the same for it)
october 15, 2026