bloody nose

your eyes are nearly swollen closed

you had a bloody nose

there wasn't a spot without a cut or a bruise

down to your toes

you shouldn't be surprised

no one wants to be friends with

somebody whose best friends did

something like that to someone you're friends with

and you got out of work

around one am

you rode home fast

not fast enough to get away from them

you finally arrived home

around four am

crawled through your door into your bed

bloody as you'd ever been

you woke around eight with an ache

rolled up a doobie then you prayed for a break

from a god you hadn't talked to or even tried to

since the eighth grade

and i arrive

shortly after nine

and shortly after that

you look me in the eye

said

please don't cry