things we know
cannot be applied;
what's crucial
is impossible,
like going back in time
to leave before you arrived.
As if we
are the ones who've just
done something wrong,
the solution
has a habit of breaking
it off with us—
just when we hoped we might
cling to it most.
All we can do
to keep ourselves occupied
is tally-up the evidence
we've snuffed from
existence, but
this never seems to run
down the clock—
and besides,
the total
is not the same thing
as the sum.
