While I clip my nails 
and trim my nose hairs 
I think of those
former friends from war zones 

how uncomfortable they were 
we couldn’t have a civil conversation

without an attack 
on my girlfriend’s perfume 

it was too easy to kill the vibe 
polite society requires 
everything said a provocation 
circling back to unspoken traumas 

the effort to squint and enjoy the narrow band of happiness we were attempting

demanded too large of a leap of faith 
from persons whose faith was shattered