by Rich Larson
in flannel pajamas
it’s good seeing you
is what i said
instead of, some days i
miss you like hell
when i woke up i had
memories, one of them:
us drunk in bed
you put your roommate’s mood-ring
on my finger and it swole
fat and purple and we tried
with dental floss, liquid soap
to slip it off, winding flesh tight
like pinching dough
the next morning we wore
matching hangovers
on our way to the jeweler
we’ll laugh about this someday
is what you said
as a woman with a small smile
and a small saw
freed my circulation
it’s someday for me now and i hope
you have somedays too
Rich Larson was born in Galmi, Niger, has lived in Canada, USA, and Spain, and is now based in Prague, Czech Republic. He is the author of the novel Annex and the collection Tomorrow Factory. His work has been translated into Polish, Czech, Bulgarian, Portuguese, French, Italian, Vietnamese, Chinese and Japanese.
Emerge Literary Journal 