the sun peeks through the dark
it pushes a thin yellow line from the window to the door
you could expand this if you wanted to
you could turn the whole room into yellow
but you choose to remain in the dark

you sit on the bed
the mattress yelps when you move
and the blanket is scratchy
you shift your weight to lean against the wall
the mattress yelps at the movement
and the blanket scratches your legs
you rest your head on the wall
it meets the cool surface with a soft bounce

your room is gray and stiff
the stiffness is only in the air and at your throat
but the gray lies on the bed
it stands against the walls
and walks through the rug

you imagine the rooms previous life
it was a mental hospital
a prison cell
the stuffy classroom with the cruel teacher you hate
or maybe it was a sleeping monster with branched and bony arms hiding in the gray

you watch its veiny hands crawl away
from the room's sullen carpet
to wrap around you
and squeeze
squeeze until
your vision is white and your throat
is dusted with tight oxygen
you choke on this thin air
you try to scream

but it is only in your head
you know that there is no one there
it is just you
alone
sitting on the bed in the stiff gray room
you are so alone that you can hear
the solitude
at your neck climbing inside you
you want to believe that this too is not real
that it doesn’t hurt
but you know that the real things are always painful
and you are in so much pain
you no longer want to be alone
so you let the sun in