Zero

The more you give up, the easier life becomes.
I read that in a webtoon—a daily dose of thaumatin
to alleviate the debt incurred by reading dead men,
trespassing days to spend the midnight with Etta James
and that one question of yours hanging in the air,
‘What I’m after?’.

It took a good deal of effort to get situated
and stop celebrating arbitrary dates,
and now only the blood-stained tissues piling up in the bin
remind me of the passage of time, so I hope—
though not without the fear of contradiction—
for nothing,

nil,

naught.


More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com

Midnight

‘There is something about adjectives
that makes one feel rather peckish’
was an opening line for a casual conversation
whose consequences, like death by misadventure
as a raree-show, lay between two words,
whispered at midnight with Nina Simone,
when you weren’t sure
if you were greeting a new day
or mourning the past one.


More words to ponder at maciejmodzelewski.com