I
He shows me his hands,
calloused from work.
I look past their roughness
and see
his mound of Venus
protruding from the thumb.
“You have a short love line,”
I say, running my fingers over.
“Well, what does that mean?”
He frowned.
“You have trouble with romance.”
“Do you want to change that?”
I regret not telling him his lifeline
stopped in the middle of his palm.
II
His hands lay cold
across his chest in the casket.
Stained glass blesses his face
with hues of purple and red.
Like the neon signs that decorated
his face in Sam’s Diner.
Where we still shared a meal
after someone was mugged.
Laughs we’d share, longing to be
in each other’s skin, tears ruining my shirt.
All resided in his eyes.
“Thank you for joining me tonight.”
I knew we didn’t have long
but I didn’t care.
III
The shattered beer bottle in the corner
is what’s left of muffled sobs.
It’s been there for weeks
yet I didn’t have the time to clean it.
Raking up the shards one morning,
blood flew down my fingers, conjuring our last night.
“Let’s run away together, go out west.”
His voice rang in my ears.
My refusal smashed the bottle,
refusal to accept what came next.
Never staring at his hair.
Unable to see his Orion eyes.
I lay there amongst glass,
interrupted dreams in my palm.
Nate Darden is a recent graduate of Lees-McRae College in Banner Elk, North Carolina where he obtained his degree in English with a minor in Creative Writing. Nate’s poetry dives into the nuances of his familial and romantic relationships, detailing the intricate emotions that come along. His work has previously been featured in Carolina Muse Literary & Arts magazine. He currently lives in Mount Holly, North Carolina where he works as a marketing intern and continues to refine his poetry. You can find him on Instagram @nate_darden.