Sharp as Teeth
SHARP AS TEETH-DATE UNKNOWN
the ice maker dropped three cubes
into the tray downstairs
while he was talking
the sound carried through the vents
sharp as teeth
i watched a fruit fly
drag itself across the television screen
one leg missing
still insisting on forward
his face reddened
from the collar upward
a slow stain
climbing his neck
i remember thinking
how strange
that the lamp beside him
kept throwing light
across his shoulder
as though nothing
was happening
he wanted me to say
the wound belonged to someone else
he wanted a cleaner story
something with edges
something he could survive
instead
my coffee cooling untouched
a skin forming
across the surface
thickening
minute by minute
until neither of us
recognized what was underneath
