paralysis in three parts

i.
you let headlights scorch the back of your eyes as we round these unlit turns; you with your foot carving into the pavement as your beat-up sneaker touches the pedal as lightly as you know how, because there’s no reason for you to drive me home yet.

ii.
i let streetlamps etch lines across my cheekbones; me with my blank stare scanning this bleached out sky for stars that manage to shine still over this nothing city and finding only blinking planes disappearing behind clouds i wouldn’t have noticed, because i still haven’t found a reason why i am alone tonight.

iii.
but now i know that shadows are nothing to be afraid of; they are merely an absence of light that reminds us what we are with no flesh to make us real or light to prove it or thoughts left inside at all, and this i have learned from too many nights sitting perfectly still, looking deeply into the air in front of my eyes, because i am no stranger to paralysis.