i fall in love with you in a stranger’s basement on halloween as controversy by prince plays in the background

Annalisa Hansford

i press your palm against the pulse of a mirrorball. comb my sweaty fingers
through your ladybird-dyed hair as prince asks do i believe in god? do i
believe in me? we twirl under neon lights against sticky bodies. graze
vomit coated fingers with vodka tainted hands. bruised confessions spill from your
lips like silence. cheeks stained with glitter the hue of
desperation. your hips sway to the rhythm of a hundred strangers’ heartbeats as i ache for
longing in a language you don’t understand. the basement dims as i ask prince
does she believe in god? does she believe in me?

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Annalisa Hansford (they/them) is an infp, libra, and freshman at Emerson College. Their work appears or is forthcoming in Emerge Literary Journal, The Hearth Magazine, and Eunoia Review. In their free time, they enjoy listening to Gracie Abrams and drinking vanilla matcha lattes.

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