i wake up because i feel like somebody is watching me. she is standing away from the foot of my bed with her arms by her side. she does not glow, instead she is revealed in shifting partiality as patterns of light that do not exist move across her. she tells me not to be scared, even though i'm not. she does not know who she is, and now i feel rude for asking. she is here because she likes to listen to the music that plays at night, because she doesn't have much else to do. she asks me if i have ever made love to a ghost, and i'm amazed by her silhouette in the sheets as she slides in next to me, thinking they'd pass right through her. to her question, i kind of laugh ironically. i guess you might say i have. her hair does not sit still, it's like she's underwater. don't joke, she says. death is not an ultimatum. life is like trying to stay awake, and sometimes we slip away before giving up all together. the most important thing to remember is to keep each other awake. i nod at this. do you remember? i open my eyes but she's already gone.
attempts at greatness negate themselves.
