By Vincent Antonio Rendoni

Look up.

Forgive me, mi amor
for this.

This is how I was taught to love— for all to see.

I can feel the blood in your face. I feel it in me too.

But before you bring my life to its ignoble end, let me just say this:

There are only so many good years left in our bodies.

Think of what we’re able to do now.

The things we can’t later.

I know, I am so morbid!

So let’s say yes and shout our intentions
for when we are willing, when we can, and say yes.

Take all the time you need to think.

But not too much.

Look up.

Nothing is written.

There’s time.

Vincent Antonio Rendoni is a 2022 Jack Straw Fellow and winner of Blue Earth Review’s 2021 Annual Flash Fiction Contest. He is a contributor to What They Leave Behind: A Latinx Anthology. His work has appeared / will appear in the Texas Review, Juked, Fiction Southeast, Sky Island Journal & more.