Reading notes
A way further in
Not the final meaning. Just a closer read, a better question, and a few nearby poems worth opening next.
Read it once for the wound, then once more for the tenderness hidden inside the wound.
Opening line
Where the door opens.
The long coupon bus rides
Center line
Where the temperature changes.
you locked yourself in,
Leaving line
The line to carry out with you.
except the other inmates.
If you came here carrying something
If you came here carrying grief, regret, or the shape of someone missing, begin here.
Themes in this poem
Good company for the nights when absence is louder than the room around you.
After you read
Stay in the archive a little longer.
If this one stayed with you, keep it. Then either leave a note, keep moving through the archive, or open a random poem.
Checking holds...
Sign in if you want your name to stay with the record.
Keep this one close.
Sign in to keep your shelf across devices.
Share this poem
Send the line onward, save the story image, or pass the poem to someone who needs it.
Sign in if you want shares and story actions to carry your name in the archive record.
Listening room
Hear the poem in one breath.
A studio reading for the archive, voiced with care and restraint.