My Friend Hands Me Her Phone With Tinder Open by Courtney LeBlanc

and lets me swipe. I swipe right

twice before she reminds me

it’s left I likely want. I married

before apps became the only

way to meet someone. I swipe

right on a man who reminds

me of an old lover, right on a man

I’d like to see as a future lover, if only

in my mind. I hand her phone back

and she closes the app, doesn’t bother

reviewing my choices. You know I picked

based on my preferences, right? She shrugs.

I doubt it’ll make any difference. Besides,

you’re married, you picked someone right

at least once. I don’t remind her

of the ex who later went to jail

for aggravated sexual assault,

the bruises I once wore like bracelets,

the messy divorce. Instead I smile,

the sunlight glinting off the diamonds

that circle my finger. How many times

would I swipe right if I were actually

looking? How many bad dates would

I suffer through? Swipe left, left, left.

I make a mental note: remember this

the next time you’re annoyed with

your husband. I wonder if I would

have swiped right on him? Some days

I’m not sure. Some days I’m certain.

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Courtney LeBlanc is the author of the full length collections Exquisite Bloody, Beating Heart (Riot in Your Throat) and Beautiful & Full of Monsters (Vegetarian Alcoholic Press). She loves nail polish, tattoos, and a soy latte each morning. Read her publications on her blog: www.wordperv.com. Follow her on twitter: @wordperv.