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Inevitable small talk follows
About the weather and time and guilt
And the new job and other mindless things
And maybe we could talk on the phone

And the exchange is funny
Because we haven't spoken in months
And I tell my friends and they give me a hard time
Because they're my friends and
I've had a few drinks and
It doesn't matter

I've never been good at small talk

And so I lie
And we wait
To justify my curiosity
And when I'm ready
You're not
And now
It's been two days and
I'm beginning to relate
Again
To the genius of a drunk
With a pen