appealing

The Maynard
Spring 2020

Nora Pace
0:00
 
 

she is in the kitchen now

brindled or unseen
she is not your color
she is not your wife
in the chopping of asparagus
you may see a kindness
but she sees a way of
splitting truth from its stem

when you went to Vermont
she mentioned how all the buildings
were green and white
but you hadn’t noticed
nor did you notice
that the dog had killed a robin
and that he had dragged
the bird’s entrails through its throat
you didn’t see
that when she found the robin
she clutched her throat
she clutched your neglect
and ripped at it.
she is in the kitchen now with a knife.