On some nights
there was a not-yet-named
emotion    

b u b b l i n g

                        behind her walls.

I could never quite pinpoint why
I insisted on existing
in her orbit,

why I tiptoed
across the linoleum floor
                        yellowed by years

just to end where I began.

When she asked
            how are you?

whatever came out was a loose translation
of the truth.

---

Nicholas Olah has self-published four poetry collections and his work appears or is forthcoming in Humana Obscura, Thimble Literary Magazine, Wildscape Literary Journal, Querencia Press, Boats Against the Current, Shadow and Sax, and more. Olah is a 2x Pushcart Prize nominee and his poem, “On the Drive Home”, won third place in The Poetry Lighthouse Prize in spring 2025. Check out more of his work on Instagram at @nick.olah.poetry.