"Winter Solstice" • Phoenix (by Davi Schweizer)

It was snowing again, and I was bleeding into the snow. You told me not to do this anymore. Bar fights had to be banned. You sat in your chair as you knew better because you were a doctor. I showed up to the appointment with a bloody and maybe broken nose. You handed me a tissue and asked if I needed to go to the emergency room. I said I was fine. I wanted to show you that I was doing my therapy tasks. I filled out the emotion worksheet and was only angry five days out of seven. Well, it was only four on the paper I didn't get to fill out Thursday, but my half day at the bar ended with me throwing out some loud piece of shit who threw a chair at my coworker. It was a week before Christmas, so why can't the alcoholics hold in their outbursts at least until the holidays are over? I bled on the paper as I waited to hand it to you. You hesitated, but you knew I was the one for you. You liked the patients who didn't quit, always paid on time, you specialized in anger management. You grabbed the ice cubes from your office mini fridge and placed them on the bridge of my nose. The ice melted as you applied pressure to stop the bleeding. You said I really needed to stop being the security, I was the bartender only. I tried closing my eyes as the ice burned against my skin.

Davi Schweizer is revising a novel. They have two poetry collections (one forthcoming from Querencia Press, Echo Decay with Kith Books). Their poems have appeared in JAKE, BULLSHIT LIT, MEMEZINE, and other places. They are the founder of Troublemaker Firestarter. Follow me on Twitter: @trblmkrfrstrtr, Instagram: @troublemakerfirestarter