to matter.
to be
matter.
to be.
eighty percent
of everything—
one particle
per coffee mug.
you drink me
without knowing.
breathe through me.
build mornings
on my absence.

i hold you together.
you give credit
to the stars.
i'm here.
not lost—
just
unfound.
invisible.
ignored.
unthought.
i think—

maybe i’m just
emptiness
pretending.
existence
inverted.
i can hear you
forgetting.
you speak of me
in past tense.
you buried
my name.
we only live
as long
as we’re remembered–
what if
no one
remembers
i live
now?

they say dark matter is real.

you don’t say
prove it.

you say
nothing.

do we exist
if no one honors
our
alive-ness?

or
do we turn inside out?

am i
dark
matter
or
am
i—