I Am But Not Poem by Ben Partenay

I am staring out the window
it is not a window but a
view of the house next door
and you are in it but not
there by choice. There are
ways to say things without
saying them. The glass
is fogged by heat, it is
not a burning warmth but
a gasp, you were a year or
a day. A white hot moment
that passed quickly. How the
mill turns and you are singing
I think, not a song, but a thought
and it’s a long ways from
the dirty floors that are not
covered in dirt but with
old dreams long since dreamt.
I am watching you but it is
not you I am watching
only myself, this time, holding
the bible in a limp hand.