Exponential

by Melanie Han

I got coffee with a friend today.
We went on a walk on the beach
then she went back to her apartment to have lunch
with her roommate before spending the afternoon
with her boyfriend who then dropped by his brother’s house
for a half hour to play with his nephew
until he left to return to his own place for the night.

                       By the time I got the phone call telling me
                                     I had tested positive for it
                                                  my friend had spent the day at work
                                                               and her roommate had visited the grocery store
                                                                            and her boyfriend had grabbed a meal with his                                                                            mom
                                                                                    and the nephew had gone to preschool
                                                                                                     and           and                  and…  

                                                        

Melanie Han is an avid traveler and a poet who was born in Korea, grew up in East Africa, and is currently pursuing an MFA in Creative Writing in Boston. She has won awards from Boston in 100 Words and Lyric, and her poetry has appeared in several magazines and online publications, such as Fathom Mag, Ruminate, and Among Worlds. During her free time, she can be found eating different ethnic foods, studying languages, or visiting new countries. Jim Baron is the owner, with his wife Liz, of the Dallas-based Blue Mesa Grill restaurants and TNT/Tacos and Tequila. He’s been a surf bum all his life, with his late brother Bob and younger brother Dan. He spends a couple hours every day painting water colors, and happiness for him is being on the beach with Liz, Kate, Zak, Ian, and Lola, the labradoodle, who runs the show.