low hanging fruit

the bartender pours a beer into a mason jar
he is ready to begin
have you talked to someone yet?
about how you get so angry
you blackout
they ask

he laughs
takes a sip of water

how come you pull and tug at your skin when you get out of the shower?
he wonders

do you think your father will ever say sorry?
for the times he choked your mom so hard
she could not breath?

does he stay away because
he does not want to know
what it might feel like to look you in the eye
man to man

why won’t you tell your lovers how you want to use them in bed?
how you are partial to biting, slapping, and seeing them cry?
bread is here
pinch it carefully
between the fingers

he rolls his sleeves up to show them his bare parts
scabs
skin tough now from use
i will do anything to get away

they dump empty nips
from their tote bag
into the bread basket
me too

smiles

the check comes
they sign
careful to hold the door on the way out

this was nice
let’s do it again sometime

in front of the bar they are surprised
moss
does not fall out of their mouth in clumps
instead
for the first time
they are taken aback
by the lack of texture
all air
and the slick wet of their throat

BQM is a twenty seven year old black non-binary writer from Brooklyn. A jack of all trades, she has worked as a commercial mover, Residence Hall Director, and most recently as a sales rep. Brittney currently lives in the Bronx with her partner and prefers bars with beer shot combos.