call it whatever you want. call it a barking dog in a car, an old song as familiar as your hands. a wasp stinging your head. a crack in the glass, a fire burning in your throat. an old coat that smells of smoke. an empty bed. call it anything and make it pretty. call it whatever you want. you can call it something else but it doesn’t change what it is. this loneliness. this absence of love. you haven’t talked to anyone except your own family, grocery store workers. not for years now. you know life has forgotten you and moved on. you try to tell yourself it’s alright. it’s alright. it’s alright. it’s alright. it’s alright it’s alrightit’salrightit’salright. call it whatever you want.













