8 hours

10pm black instant coffee and a five-page essay on ethnosocial analyses
Calling it a night after a half-assed heading

11pm moldy ceilings and misty tiles
Pruning fingers from prolonged shower hookups

12am half-priced tequila and flat beer
Making out against the neighbor’s door

1am empty highways and wawa cravings
Running through the string of red lights

2am sober souls and drunken thoughts
Spooning in matching ill-fitted onesies

3am frank sinatra and christmas lights
Unbuttoning each barrier that exists

4am tangled necklaces and disordered breaths
Pushing against the makeshift bed of couch cushions

5am ugly nightmares and smeared mascara
Planting kisses slowly until sleep consumes at last