DISCO
AUGUST 2024
Tips for Surviving a Party
S. C. Williams
Find the bathroom door that locks.
(After he leans in
and asks to buy you a drink
after the blood has swelled
to the surface
where his teeth met your flesh
wait until he turns his back
to dissolve into the crowd
and fall in with the shadows.
Match your footsteps
with the thumping pulse of the music.)
Clean yourself up.
(Splash water on your face
and wash his whisky-sour breath
off your skin.
Press the paper towel to your wound
to soak up the blood.
Try to forget the feeling
of his claws snagging in your hair.
When a warm clot
rises in your throat
expel it immediately.)
Find a weapon.
(Don’t be reckless—
take your jacket
and wrap it around your fist.
Use the screams bellowing
from the dancefloor
to cover the sound
of the mirror shattering.
Snag a jagged shard
careful to calm your trembling
so you don’t pierce your own flesh.
Aim your weapon at the door
when the handle rattles.)
Summon the animal rage in your bones.
(You already know how to do that
don’t you?)
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