surface skimming.

when the light is low 

and hazy, the hum of 

voices soaked with drink,
vague gyrations of laughter, gazes
merging would-be lovers, body heat
fondling paramours in mutual exchange,
hands caressing across the table
without fingers touching, the
earnest purls of expectation
slowly pulsing to the top,
charybdis is stirring 

in silent corroboration, 

diving down deep with

reciprocation, scheming 

to close the deal 

before last call

heather brager © 3.13.2025

just kill me now.

it is 3:00 a.m. again
and the surgeon general 
reports that loneliness is 
an american epidemic

the words spell 
public health crisis
they say isolation
is killing us all, it is
stealthily hunting me

I try to tell you in one 
hundred ways that I 
am starting to die, my
body a quivering bird 
in your cupped hands 

the absence of your 
breath is equivalent to 
the impact of smoking 
15 cigarettes per day

I no longer remember
the way to explain
how this mosaic heart 
fits perfectly in your palms

© 01/19/2025 heather brager