tuned for alignment

you’re already watchin
when the air shifts
the way light loosens
and slips from my shoulders
waitin for a sound
that doesn’t come

you can’t see the violence
that rages inside
only the shift
in the way
my strings are pulled
and tuned

a touch beneath my skull
tiltin my head
slow as the risin moon
as if the night itself
were adjustin my posture

my spine rises
pulled clean
each vertebra fallin
into line
learnin their place
ahead of my will

threads draw tight
behind my ribs
and my breath smooths
into somethin practiced
somethin elegant
somethin dangerous

you notice how stillness
starts lookin intentional
how my weight redistributes
and the air makes room
without bein asked
steppin aside
to give me space

my arms lower
hands open
palms pale
empty as fresh paper
waitin for ink to arrive

it lifts me
by invisible strings
fits me into myself
with practiced care
easin my body into position
til nothin strains

warmth peels away
not torn
not rushed
like petals removed
one at a time
slowly fallin at my feet

nothin resists

chin set
jaw quiet
eyes angled past you
toward a place
where nothin asks
to be loved
or wanted

the strings hold

you step closer
and the light thins
between us
your breath held too long
lookin for a place
where it can release

there’s a weight
under the polished quiet
that doesn’t bend
while my face
keeps its shape
gentle
correct
recognizable
welcomin in a way
that offers nothin in return

your hand lifts 
pauses
uncertain
caught mid reach
in the shimmer
where warmth should be
and cold lives

you stop
your breath changes
and you’re unable
to finish the motion
unable to bring yourself
to touch me
and you don’t know why

b/c nothin is wrong
but somethin is gone