My shoulders in her hands
a hazy pressed against my forehead
why I didn’t say something sooner
why hadn’t I handed over my
broken / heart / shards
maybe something could’ve been salvaged
“Because.“
Big foamy sip
“We don’t talk about forfeits.”

Mackenzie is a writer and illustrator based in Los Angeles who currently writes for podcasting and television. Her poetry chapbooks are forthcoming with Variant Lit and Kelsay Books this fall.