a funny thing

i am in the library sitting when i see a girl.
she is alone, reading a novel and drinking out of a bottle of Clorox brand bleach solution
the kind smaller than a jug, in a litre.
i speak to her, but she says that i should not worry, because it isn't bleach,
it's dish soap.
i say okay.

i imagine that it is instead bleach
and that it is burning her throat
and corroding her stomach.

she coughs
but nobody speaks
instead of foul air and spit, there are bubbles

today i bought things that i don't have money to buy.
i took out all my new possessions and set them on the table to look at them.
it is comforting to be with them
"yes," i say to myself.
"this is justifiable behavior and i am a good person"

the bleach bottle girl faints and people begin speaking at her now
it's too late
her eyes are glazed
her gaze, foamy.