by Nick Quaglietta, 2019

So, how many am I up to by now?
Who cares...I stopped counting at nine.
There are no more second chances here; it’s either this or eternal damnation.
Which means that everything, absolutely everything, is at stake.
As if I need to remind myself of that fact.
Fool that I am, going all in after a life-long losing streak.
But I guess that’s me, I’d rather burn in hell than die alone.
Hmm, what was that I once read about “He who has felt the deepest grief…”?


An aura literally fills the room when she arrives.
It's just the two of us in this crowded place.
And who would have guessed that heaven would turn out to be a café in a bookstore.