Saturation
Schuyler Brooks
Saturation
a blue night of rum and coke
bleached unevenly by the quick orange
of a lighter at the end of a cigarette
we remember the shapes
of people’s noses the apples of cheeks
shining under the flicker of flame and influence
the alcohol seeping into speech pinch
papers between lips pink from blood
from exertion we remember teeth
bone slick and glinting in moonlight
and by the fire we count knuckles
fingers extended like ladders up a solo cup
we remember the porch and slink
around the house to soft yellow light set
ourselves in the swing and spin secrets
of hope and future to store in the curtains
we count eyelashes and heartbeats
and we count breaths in our solitude
our two foreheads pressed together
the pale gray tail of smoke hovering just above
Schuyler Brooks is a part-time book slinger at Bookish: A shop for indie folk who read in Arkansas. They are a creator of several arts and a dedicated poet. They love to write in form, specifically the Sestina and the Ghazal. They have been published in Applause, an undergraduate literary journal at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, and in Isele Magazine’s Queer Joy Quarterly.