standing

we form such 

brief impressions

a moment's glance

an overheard phrase

a rumour

a sense

and from that 

tumbles the lasting sensation

that passes for relationship

each impression

echoing the first

and if the echo is muffled

or incongruent

then it is dovetailed

forcibly

to correspond

with that which has gone before

and this goes on

and on

until one day

the artifice

becomes too much to bear

and no matter 

how much is contained -

no matter how much is hidden

it all comes tumbling out

and down on the floor

in all its emptiness

in all its nothingness

and you find yourself

right there on the floor

with the sorry

fragments

of your own creation

and standing up

becomes the most important

and most singular expression

of yourself

and who you really are

and so

here i am

standing