JON BISHOP is an MFA candidate at the University of St. Thomas in Houston, where he studies poetry. He lives in New Hampshire.

His boss stood at the door and told him

To pack his things and leave, like scraps or trash,

And looked at him with cold and empty eyes

And said it was just math; don’t take it hard.

He sighed and gathered what he had and left.

There would be other jobs, but what he had

Was dead and bleeding on the granite floor. 

The sky outside was drained of all its glow

And building lights succeeded all the stars.

And then they each went out, and all was dark.