You are coupled: Rose is for the bright summer days, yellow-black butterflies flapping
around, things that are too bright in the light and you have to shield your eyes but happily.
You are no longer coupled: Pinot Noir is for the night, when things are dark and grim, when you have a cigarette for the first time in three years, when you see a sharp piece of metal and wonder what you will do with it.

Ron Burch’s short stories have been published in Mississippi Review, Cheap Pop, Pank and others; he’s been nominated for a Pushcart. His first novel, Bliss Inc., was published by BlazeVOX Books. Please visit: http://www.ronburch.com.