the after-party

poem

I stayed out late last night 
and was reminded
of why I’d made it a habit 
to stay in.
Is that what parties
are for? 
because why then
would they continue
to throw more parties
where someone tells me
I look just like
how they picture 
Mary Magdalene?
Twice I overheard 
two men claim
alcoholic seltzer was
just as good 
as any Mexican beer 
while the hostess
leans in,
tucks a loose curl 
behind her bejeweled ear, 
tells me how 
everything is easy 
at either end 
but it’s the middle 
that get’s ya,
you know?
My boyfriend 
started to speak
in that voice 
I always found 
annoying 
about my resilience
being a virtue 
conveniently leaving out 
the part where
it’s only
a virtue 
in a world 
where soft 
and gentle deer 
aren’t
left split open
on the road
like it’s exactly 
what the fuckers 
deserved.