item a : holding oily bangs back while she vomits a coke and rum outside a shitty bar by campus
item b : skinny dipping in a river too frigid to feel
item c : watching the firepit dance to Doo-Wop after graduation & wondering what comes next
item d : handing you my heart when you can barely hold your phone
i feel a buzz in my left pocket / another missed call from her; it’s the third time today. i swipe to return the call & my screen produces her face / blueish purple swatches staining her cheeks & circling the bags under her eyes / beneath oily bangs / a green vein slithers across her forehead / venom in its tracks / her lips / camouflaged / in the surrounding skin / they open / pause / close / she inhales all of the air in her room / “i tried again last night” / the frequent parasite returns / eats away at my stomach / I want to compile a list of things you can’t do when you’re dead / my screen goes dark & our faces disappear.