(Content Warning: implications of death)

Detik pertama
I was drowning
and the world softened,
an egg dipped in vinegar.

Detik kedua
I saw the fireflies again.
They beat their golden stubs,
swimming through the syrup trees.
I captured them in jars
and told my brother I
stole the stars from the night sky.

Detik ketiga
My mother no longer
sings as loud; she
keeps hearing the last song
she crooned to me.
Her bones tremble
with the rhythm.

Detik terakhir
We leave parts of ourselves
in everything we touch.
They break off like leaves,
smothered by the wind,
little seconds trickling.

I watch myself in their eyes.
In some, I am caught in the waves;
in others, lost in the fog;
in others still, I am nothing.