He keeps looking at the
Blackboard above us
Like it’s going to have
The answers
The bar is full and other
Drinkers are glaring at us
I can see him sweating
Not looking at me
Like he’s in the last minute
Of a pop quiz for the class
He always skipped
He mutters his order and
The bartender mixes them up
Quickly, sending us on our way
At our seats I take a sip and
Watch him
The umbrella in his drink keeps
Sticking into his cheek when he
Goes for a sip
After the third stab he says
Goddammit all
And tosses the stick across the room
He goes bright red when he
Realizes he’s hit someone
Looks at me with those lost eyes
And I can feel his hands at
My throat for thirty years as he says
I started seeing someone for my anger
James Avramenko (he/him, @anaveragemango) is a poet and podcaster currently working from Saskatoon, SK, Canada. He is the host of "Friendless" a show about how to be a better friend by losing every friend you have, in which he interviews Facebook connections then unfriends them at the end of the show. He is the author of "BU TT HE AD" a collection of poetry about social anxiety, coping mechanisms, and Dolly Parton.