dry-erase.

i exhale in long, unbroken paragraphs.

the sky is never symmetrical on nights like these. the stars don't align perfectly on earth's axis, and you don't hesitate to point it out.

you examined the celestial bulbs, and screamed. you curse the sky & i string out each of my hopes on a winter breeze, and the wind stirs my bones. my skeleton freezes over & you notice. you reach out for my hand. "no."

indifferently you sigh, and i inscribe my worries on my skin, pen scrawling over the expanse of flesh. you lean in & smile. with the intimacy of tapeworms you breathe down my spine and try to exhale the hypergraphia from my flesh.

my words stumble. "that's not okay."

your smile descends into gaping anger. "don't be such a fucking freezer."

and that was it.

i started for the lake & didn't turn back to face you this time. frostbite warmed my limbs as i took my pen and wrote on my arm and the words lingered there. and i slept in cold august waters, singing fervently to the frogs, dipping in and up from the surface.

i fell asleep beneath the expanse of exclamation marks and angry stars.