closing time

Audrey L. Reyes

for the places we used to haunt, especially Today x Future (and also what it was, ILoveYou x Future) 

sigh, they're closing down the places 
we used to frequent. first to go: 
that little hole-in-the wall of Today 
where our stranger pasts were so entwined, 
where we first met up after matching on 
Tinder, where both our new beginnings 
happened for the Future. then: that neon bar 
where our friends used to be lovers, where it 
was much too noisy for a pint of draft beers. 
soon after: the Route we only shared once, 
though again, entwined to the umbilical 
cords of you and i before the us. and since: 
the tiny Cinema where we held hands 76 times 
under my skirt, where i was sure i'd scared 
you off after i asked you to stay, please, 
stay, where the crowd avalanched out 
into the dark street with such flurry that we 
ended up looking for the ends of our tongues 
to speak light into questions and solace. 
now, we're here: closed off from all 
the closures we couldn't have prevented anyway. 
we didn't need Bon Iver, it seemed. or the neon 
bar signs, the disco ball, the alcohol running 
drills through our bloodstream. open 
for business, you and i. this whole 
business of love past closing time.

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Audrey L. Reyes (she/her) is a Filipino poet and former early childhood educator whose favorite workplace activity is raising hell. Her work has appeared in several online literary magazines, anthologies, and print issues. She resides in Manila.

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