Quiet January Possibility

Quiet January. The year changes while I am still awake, sitting with the

same thoughts I carried in from before. Nothing dramatic happens.

The room does not rearrange itself. The past does not knock and ask to come back in.

I notice how silence feels different now. Not empty, just open,

like something waiting without impatience. I think about the things I meant to finish,

the words I almost said, the apologies I rehearsed but never delivered.

They do not disappear tonight. They simply stop pressing so hard against my chest.

Outside, the streets are quieter than usual. Even the city seems unsure of what it