con · 12 / second sleeper
the first sleeper's foot the first sleeper's knee the first sleeper's hip the first sleeper's chest the first sleeper's neck the first sleeper's head — risen the propping arm the open eye — the bright one the second sleeper's foot the second sleeper's knee the dropped foot the second sleeper's hip the folded arm the second sleeper's tucked head the lower shoulder
∴ constellation 12

the second sleeper

two figures lying along the lower sky. the first has lifted his head; a small bright star marks the just-opened eye. the second has not. the second is the constellation's namesake. all the records call this figure simply the second, as if the first did not need a name.

on nights when this rises the sleeper on the floor below turns once in their bed and does not wake. those who walk the corridor before dawn sometimes feel a hand on the shoulder and learn, by morning, that it was their own. a small dream is passed between the two — never read, only transferred.

rises in · the longest nights   visible from · the corridor window
atlas · return