On our way to the dance, we made a fire under the bridge.
nSnow fell outside the darkness of our shadowed space.
nWe sang about the bottles of beer we raised with gloved hands.
nYou lay your arm over my shoulders. Your face glowed in the flames.
nTwigs crackled and bits of paper rose in the smoke.
nSnow glistened under the streetlights beyond the bridge.
nIn a while weu2019d step into the cold brightness but for now
nI loved the dark space, the circle of fire, and our song.
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nIn the blackness of my bedroom, sometimes a fire
nblazes and I see our pink faces before the flames.
nI hear our voices and the sighing of the wind.
nYour arm crosses my cold neck and hugs my shoulder,
nand I dream we never stepped outside our hallowed space.
nThe snow was so cold and the streetlights too strong.
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nnnJames Mulhern has published fiction, nonfiction, and poetry in literary journals and anthologies over seventy times. In 2013, he was a Finalist for theu00a0Tuscany Prize in Catholic Fiction.u00a0In 2015, Mr. Mulhern was awarded a fully paid writing fellowship to Oxford University in the United Kingdom. That same year, a story was longlisted for theu00a0Fish Short Story Prize.u00a0In 2017, he was nominated for au00a0Pushcart Prize. His writing (novels and short story collection) earned favorable critiques fromu00a0Kirkus Reviews,u00a0including au00a0Kirkusu00a0Star. His most recent novel,u00a0Give Them Unquiet Dreams,u00a0is au00a0Readersu2019 Favoriteu00a0Book Awardu00a0winner, au00a0Notable Best Indie Book of 2019,u00a0and au00a0Kirkus Reviewsu00a0Best Book of 2019. He is a college professor and high school teacher in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
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