Around my neck - on my head

"We have the same feelings that we have had."
I knew what was different when my skin didn't crack.
My callouses didn't burn.
My stomach didn't sink.
I just internalized the loss. Embraced the weakness.
Toe to toe with "one day at a time"
it has become as routine as watching you sink into cold/dead/skin
the void where that fire went
or where the next one
the rope hanging from my father's hotel window
Around. My. Neck. On. My. Head.