she cupped her hands I struck the match nothing I tried again this time her cigarette came to life burning with one red eye in the darkness, I collapsed next to her my body sluggish my mind invigorated by the whiskey and gin we sunk into that grass our souls dancing for a while we talked of our domestication of our captivity leaving it behind leaving it all behind, she fed me the smoke dipping the cigarette into my mouth as I inhaled the ghosts of our isolation, time passed geese flew over our heads geese in the night geese heading nowhere she told me that she felt sick I hoisted her up pulling with everything she came to her feet, vomiting five or six times into the winterkilled grass I stood there holding her up my head on her back listening to her stomach listening for something as she cried out the poison was killing her the poison was killing me and the stars watched over head placing their bets whispering to each other “maybe they've got it, maybe they've got it this time†we moved farther away I left her walking towards the water, my stomach contracting letting the earth take the poison from my mouth I returned to her both of us reveling, rambling but speaking the cleanest truth we climbed the hill as we reached the top she became sick again, I held her hair back speaking drunken soothing words below the blank face of the moon, bright and empty alone in the darkness with the suns warmth on its back I began to shiver in the breeze the world was returning, it was all returning the moon was a moon, the geese were gone and the stars hardly existed I took her inside just as someone vomited on the carpet and killed it for good