to make things right.
I loop the rink again
faster this time
weaving in and out of bodies
until all my surroundings blur together.
It’s just past eleven.
I can hear the nearby speaker system
counting down
with a digital clock
an animated disco ball
projected on a big screen
waiting to drop at midnight.
If she doesn’t come
you will be OK,
I start to repeat in my head.
You tried, that’s all that matters.
I’m going so fast now
it feels like I’m a blue heron
gliding over Lake Michigan
untouched
unbothered by gravity.
And thenfor just a moment
it really seems as if
my feet are lifting
up from the earth.
And—oh shit.
That’s because they are.
I’ve lost my balance.
I hear someone scream:Watch out!
Then THUD, I’m down for the count
