there’s a certain time of the evening when consciousness coughs

but you must listen for that faint

ahem

8 or 9 o’clock
when you’re sitting on the patio you’ll hear it
when you’re listening to the moon preach to you
about craters and tides,
about what it means to pull on another body,
but you must listen for that cough
and maybe then
for just one moment
you’ll feel insects trembling in the soil
and see your own reflection in your palm, your knee, your ankle
and maybe you’ll
cough
back

– Rosa Todaro