𝕎𝕚𝕥𝕙 𝔸𝕝𝕝 𝕋𝕙𝕚𝕟𝕘𝕤 𝕊𝕒𝕚𝕕

Jaime Barash

This is the second time this week he called
Both times while I was eating Vietnamese
I said "darling, what are you doing calling me
on a Friday night?”
He said,
I CAN'T STOP THINKING ABOUT YOU
My cheeks, warm
I said, "well, you know,
I'M JUST MAKING SENSE OF IT ALL”
I’ve been entering new dimensions
Eating spider rolls
Drinking champagne
Master minding plans
How was I supposed to know
a butterfly has to wait for its wings to dry
before it can fly away?
So I’ve just been dancing, I tell him
Shimmy-ing and shaking
Rising and falling
like a carousel in motion
I’ve got horses to ride, Mister
I can't be getting silly in your nonsense,
I tell him
I can't get dizzied up in you
And so,
I just listened to him breathe,
sitting there silently
and still
It was his breath I always liked about him
The way it calmed me
The way it made me still,
just his breathing
so I listened for a good 22 seconds
and I watched the lights turn
Red
then yellow
and green,
eventually
I reached for my pocket mirror
checked for cilantro
smiled
listened to his breath
sucked on a cherry cert
colored my lips
hung up the phone

ℕ𝕠 ℙ𝕝𝕒𝕔𝕖 𝕋𝕠 𝔹𝕖 𝕆𝕟 𝔸 𝕄𝕠𝕟𝕕𝕒𝕪

Jaime Barash

*ring ring*
"where are you?"
he says
"that depends who's asking"
i say
"are you somewhere near me? i feel you close to me”
i'm on Queen street, i tell him
i take a drag
i pause
i think about seeing him, blow my smoke into circles, smile, close my phone, slurp my soup, imagine my millions

Jaime Barash is a Poet, Writer, Artist, and Mother living on the shores of Lake Erie. Her work has been published in Hobart, Back Patio Press, Dirt, and Diva Corp Magazine.

She is currently working on her forthcoming book of Essays, Poetry, Mantras, and Musings, SODA POP WISHES & COFFEE STAINED DREAMS.

@cashhoneys