Cheap Shot by Delvon T. Mattingly

Menacing eyes glare
as bartenders deliver
more drinks. Emerged in
great company, always
unaware of a merciless force
preparing to strike. It pierces
all ends of the soul, forming
a desire to flee and find
the nearest restroom, to
regurgitate sorrow over the sink,
as a reflection stares back in fear.
And behind it lingers the entity,
they who’ve been there all along.

 

Delvon T. Mattingly, who also goes by D.T. Mattingly, is a writer from Louisville, Kentucky and a PhD student in epidemiology at the University of Michigan. He currently lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan with his two cats, Liam and Tsuki. Learn more about his work at http://delvonmattingly.com/.

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