Thanks For Not Coming

by Maya Nordine

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Dear Martha,

Regretfully, my hemorrhoids 
flared up from contemplating 
how to tell you I was 
on the fence about coming. 
Now, I definitely
can’t attend. 

Your last few parties, 
however wonderfully
decorated, I sat 
alone, conversing with 
the cookie cake. By the time
I got done with it, it said 
“HA                      

       DA”
and that kind of thing? 
Hasn’t proved great 
for my self-esteem.
I don’t need any more
issues. Heath insurance? 
None. And immediate care 
makes me pay for everything. 

Let’s just meet 
for lunch. Until then, I’ll 
hover over the toilet.
Stabilize the condition.
It’s a preventative measure.

Your friend,

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Maya Nordine lives in sunny Chicago, where she co-runs Study Hall Workshops, a (currently) virtual multigenre writing workshop. She holds an MFA from Antioch University Los Angeles. She is a poetry reader and production assistant for NonBinary Review and Alphanumeric Podcast. Her work has been published in The American Journal of Poetry, bath magg, Small Orange, Door Is A Jar, and TYPO