“I love you”
flutters from her lips like the paper
fortune from a bland cookie

The programmed response
sticks in my throat
I choke on it
eyes bulging, face turning blue
She claps my back- wraps
her arms around me
Squeezes, screams, panics

Her last resort,
two fingers down my throat
My eyes go vacant
The slimy mass is dislodged
a weak, croaking “love you too”

Just like that
Everything falls back into place

© Milan Lopes