first night—
we stayed up
until the drywall cracked.
i let it out—
the bitter taste,
the split voice,
fists wanting
to break something,
to push and kick
until he’d run.
he didn’t flinch.
didn’t bless.
didn’t fix.
just lit a cigarette.
watched.
shook.
stayed.
felt the weight.
worse things came.
he said—
you’re not gonna win, you know.
no matter how much you scare me,
i’m still gonna be here at the end.

we wept
by moonlight.
dawn found us hollow.
cafe on main.
black coffee
filled with grace.

weary smiles.
still shaking.
still there.


second night—-
he couldn’t sleep.
the house remembered.
she was in the dishes,
the crooked lamp,
the blue robe by the door.
he told me
how he found her.
how long he stayed.
what the silence
smelled like.
we wept
by starlight,
but i didn’t reach.

just lit a cigarette.
listened.
shook.
stayed.
felt the weight.
he cracked open—
layer after layer.
shame. loss.
being left
and left
and left.
dawn again.
dunkin.
corner booth.
hands curled around cups
like wordless prayer.
weary grins.
still shaking.
still there.