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What Happened Was: we worked alone together

What happened was       we worked alone together
                                             typesetting late one night, I flirted with him
                                             to see what would happen
                                             to test whether I could seduce

What happened was       we went back to his place, his space
                                             we kissed, we fondled

What happened was       he excused himself
                                             I sat alone on the couch
                                             I still had my jacket on
                                             I grew bored
                                             I had already proved myself to myself, the proof of being there

What happened was       he returned naked
                                             he wore glasses

What happened was       maybe I laughed
                                             maybe I rolled my eyes
                                             maybe I said, you’ve rushed ahead without me

What happened was       he got dressed
                                             he said I should leave . . . or I did

What happened was       I found a photo of me on a bulletin board for anyone to see
                                             my face was smashed out with a white sticky print
                                             the size and shape of his thumb

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Anna Leahy is the author of Aperture (poetry) and Tumor (nonfiction). Her latest chapbook is What Happened Was: (Harbor Editions, 2021). Her essays have won top awards from the Los Angeles Review, Ninth Letter, and Dogwood. She edits TAB: The Journal of Poetry & Poetics.

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