i unlock the door
to my cheap rented apartment,
sweaty hair sticking to my face
and smelling of alcohol

without even slipping off
my skin-tight dress
or wiping off
smeared makeup

i crawl into my empty bed
the silence surrounds me
after hours
of socializing with strangers

you never realize how lonely
you really are
until you surround yourself
with people who won't remember you
nor will care about you

and then come home
to an empty house—
not a sound fills a room—
and wake up with hangovers
and dried tears