conversations after hours

by Julia Lombardo

let me clock out before we get into this

same difference

san francisco, LA

i forgot that was her name

have you ever thought

about becoming a therapist?

my mom still calls it a phase

you know you don’t have to wait

they probably just don’t know

what else to say

isn’t it cool how tiny,

tiny snowflakes can hold

such an intricate shape?

it’s good to let it out

you should tell them goodbye

you probably don’t know what those words mean

but don’t forget to have fun

once it happens,

i’ll buy you a cake

i want to write him a note

it’s just something you shouldn’t say

i wouldn’t say no

if he ever asked me

we knew we were in love

i think it’s just the way i was raised

i want to make it home

to watch the game

this job is my way to save

i want to get better

but i don’t have him to talk to anymore

i just don’t want

my kids to feel afraid

it’s still too early to know

the future’s so far away

i won’t keep you late

i bet you’re getting cold

it’s just been hard these days

can you believe it got that busy?

i swear i’m always going to be

stuck

at this place

i’ll take the towels out on the way.

Julia Lombardo is a full-time magazine editor always finding ways to keep up with her creative writing endeavors. She has numerous poems published across Mosaic Magazine, Short Vine Journal, Hog Creek Hardin Literary Journal, and Backwards Trajectory. She enjoys reading YA fiction, going to concerts, ranking coffee shops, and walking aimlessly through wooded trails.