“hallway split“
One waits in the hallway,
coat already half‑on,
the air too tight
to stand in any longer.
The other moves
through the lounge
with a kind of reckless grace,
turning up the music,
wanting the walls to feel it.
Between them,
the floor holds steady,
bearing both the urge
to step out and the urge
to set the whole place alight,
as if this room were built
for exactly this split.
.
