the measly barely flickering and faded light bulbs sunk into the ceiling as though a giant had pressed them like buttons
throw dark-rimmed shadows in strange formations to the plum of the walls
the off brand carpet rough and stringy, cheap like five o'clock shadow at six
sandpaper on our hands where they fall and explore the colours dull and uninspired
but somehow beautiful to us

you said we should play a hand in the sparse minutes between responsibilities
and you didn't like the way the chairs rolled and moved like the sea pulling us away from each other
so we sank beneath the waves to where the darkness enveloped our voices whispering for us to stay and to forget
and to lose the ticking of the clock like a bomb
like the IV dripping safety into the space where our breaths became a cauldron
stirring together pieces of you
and bits of me

where wires tangled and cables stretched thin like my patience bundled and thrown under the counter to hide the imperfections
throw jagged slashes in my vision of you leaning back to see something you say is on the ceiling but I know is really in your lashes
and black plastic cases labeled like the scars on my wrist become our castle
we find solace in the concrete silver of the underside of the counter as it becomes our umbrella
and no one can find us
and nothing can hurt us

the metal sheen of cabinets that stretch up from where we sit like skyscrapers built to hide the stories and secrets inside
above us the glimmer of lights and screens flash like a warning sign telling us stay in the dark and rest your worries on each others shoulders
and remind ourselves that the walls are not shrinking
and we are still breathing

so as the queen and king of hearts play on in the darkness of this box
the cards slip from our fingers and wind their way like rivers flowing through the cracks in our dreams
and we fill our heads with stories overdosing on the painkiller for the modern teenager
and longings rise up like you from your knees praying god
please
don't make me
so lonely