—SLIP FAST, GET CARRIED AWAY

 

 

Nothing

 

In bed, the boy is swarmed by Nothing, Nothing being the thing there’s always too much of, an unfortunate abundance, Nothing palpitating through the walls and pillow case, Nothing shredding the sleep-starter filaments of the boy’s dreams before they can begin to bloom, Nothing omnipresent like a vindictive ghost or a god bully, Nothing watching him soap in the shower, Nothing knocking on his bedroom door after midnight, Nothing following him into the park, Nothing kneeling in the next pew, Nothing peeping through the wormhole fence, Nothing at graduation or prom or his honeymoon where his bride asks why he always answers, Nothing.