My breath disappears before the crossing light turns green Sleeves pulled over both my hands metal railing underneath One car passes through the haze then the street belongs to no one Bare branches cut across a sky with almost nothing on it I keep walking not because I'm late just because the air feels different when nobody speaks Streetlamp colors lose their edges halfway down the empty road A vending machine keeps humming to itself beside the wall Footsteps leave then disappear before the next ones take their place Somewhere past the overpass a train becomes a line of sound Nothing follows nothing needs to let it travel far enough Leave a little space between us let the quiet take its time Every sound comes back much softer after crossing all that distance Nothing has to break the silence just to prove that it was there Stay a moment don't explain it let the open air remain The pavement loses all its color where the streetlights finally end I can hear the far-off traffic without needing to look back Breath appears then disappears the way a thought can lose its shape Nothing calling me to hurry nothing asking me to stay Leave a little space between us let the quiet take its time One last sound moves through the distance smaller— softer— then it's gone
