from Life As A Crossword Puzzle

4. Down

I can no longer remember how it began. I think we were all given pet rocks, and
then asked to think about biblical names – Gomer, Hirah, Zacharias.

The moment moved. The window held the moon's bartering gaze when someone
shoved a finger-painted map of the suburbs into my lap.

Suddenly I was modeling for an ice sculpture, chainsaws grinding. And then I was
thinking about going acoustic. Time was a sprig leaf waiting for the wind.

No one's ever told me to practice dying. But I think I should. I think it would be a
lot like a day when everything goes blank.

The only thing you remember is the rain spilling slowly on the rooftop. Going
somewhere you would never go. When it falls the sound is somewhere else.