it was one of those nights
when the dark finds its way to
wrap itself around you in a blanket of concern
it turns to a vapor that seeps into your skin and bursts
from beneath your eyes and out your fingertips

it’s the wind outside the car window
rushing past while you sit in a daze of
obscurity to the tip-tapping of your
fingers on the keyboard thinking faster than
your brain, scrolling scrolling scrolling through the
pages that don’t really exist
haven’t you ever realized the way the internet
leaves you feeling empty inside the
same empty you felt after skipping meals when
you were young like skipping stones across the lake
always ending in the same middle abyss of springtime when
everything was new and the water was still too cold to touch

flash forward to here you’re in the stillness
darkened and dazed
with a glass of that same cold water sitting
next to you but you’ve forgotten so now it’s
lukewarm and it’ll make you sick, she would tell you
so don’t drink it
but it’s okay, you tell her
you’re too focused on the bright screen blinding your
tired eyes anyway searching for something you can’t
find you just feel empty
darkened and dazed
it was one of those nights