the heaviness of his breaths
i can still hear from the bathroom
he must have said something
i didn’t get
i yell back
i’m okay
giddy
i am so giddy
from just gargling with some stinging
mouthwash
in this man’s sink
i am so besides
myself
that i am almost certain
if I break
out
from my body now
i would burst into a yellow
trembling flower that could not
be wilted
by the portable heater
warming
half
of this room