Palinode 10

That
-that you fluff your pillow
-that you open your mouth
If
-if I go to work
-if I stay in the area
You can tell
-I am at work
-I am distracted
-I am a restless ceiling fan
-I am doing the same thing, another time
That
-that the house caught on fire last month
-that it is not the first time
If
-if I can only concentrate on things
-if I stay in the area
-if you remember, will you remind me?

You understand I barter tentatively.
You understand I steal only the deaf night, his banal words.

That the
-the house is our house
-the house will not leave me
-the house has watched me walk to work, as far as he can see

As far as
-the avenue, probably only to the mid-six-hundred block
-the restaurant across the street where I eat pancakes

As far as
you are concerned:
-that you open your mouth to yawn like a hamster
-that you sleep with your head hard in the pillow

That
-it is slowly moving
-it is almost unnoticeable
-it is so much calmer than I am.