It wasn’t better. You said that
I’d feel better after smoking

I heard about the accident and I’m
Sorry. I learned to like the screeching.
A severed type of joy. It
Matters to me that you get
Unhooked from spite

He said, the world is such a
Place now that there is no
Golden rule. I went
Hard on vices, on
Cold vegan nights, in
Guarded, autistic weather. This

Love is deeper now but you’re
Not who you said you were

Bernard Cohen is an author based in New York City whose work has appeared in Spectra Poets, Expat Press, HAD and others. He also runs the online publication Charm School with his friend Vivi Hayes.