Video footage from December 2008
captured an exchange of I love yous
which proves that I was good
at pretending
in front of the camera.
By 2009 I was abandoned in Vegas
without a phone, ID, or money
at a club we waited for hours to get into
which you got kicked out of
for threatening
a bartender
another patron
me.
I wandered out drunk
walked the strip
wandered back in
to loiter about the nickel slots
in search of change.
…
Standing in the shower I glance up,
wince, rinse, and sigh.
It’s far too much work
to find a screwdriver
and stepladder.
Especially after having
just come clean.
Shyla Shehan
Shyla Shehan is an analytical Virgo who holds an MFA in Writing from the University of Nebraska where she received an American Academy of Poets Prize in 2020. She is a co-founder and editor at The Good Life Review and currently lives in Omaha, Nebraska with her husband, children, and four cats.