Squinting
While I clip my nails
and trim my nose hairs
I think of those
former friends from war zones
how uncomfortable they were
we couldn’t have a civil conversation
without an attack
on my girlfriend’s perfume
it was too easy to kill the vibe
polite society requires
everything said a provocation
circling back to unspoken traumas
the effort to squint and enjoy the
band of happiness we were attempting
demanded too large of a leap of faith
from persons whose faith was shattered