Several Gaps in Time

Kristin Heyder

 

There’s a woman in my house  

that only I see             We don’t let others in 

 

I toss around a lie on my tongue 

guiding it over a crooked tooth  

 

to see if it breaks  

I give it to anyone who asks 

 

We plant strawberries on the path 

where my driveway used to be 

 

She loses her hair in clumps 

I find it under the rug 

 

behind my bed           I sweep it up 

I wear boxing gloves to sleep 

 

I cook bland meals      Save her a plate 

that she can’t touch        There’s a cut 

 

on our jaw that runs deep 

and never bleeds