Smoke & Loops

Tried to remember his name.

The actor, from that film.

The one where he played the lawyer.

My mind, a frantic buzz behind my eyes,

a squirrel in a cage.

It loops, it snags on almost-words,

snatches at a syllable, a half-face.

Like trying to grab smoke,

or catch a falling leaf before it touches ground.

It circles back, empty-handed.

Just the effort, the hot, small pressure

that never quite lands anything solid.