By Terry Hall Bodine
The poets stake their places at the table,
take the outlines of their experiences
and dress them: supercilious foxtail stoles,
a rabbit’s head and shanks, the outsize
shoes and rubber nose of cheap suburban
angst. How succulent the shapes
they make! How adipose, how rich!
I have eaten nothing for eighteen days
but red radishes and disdain. A stick
figure draped solely in abdication
of need, I skim an eraser
across my page. I scrape
the bones into shivs.
The First Thing to do when Fixing a Faucet Drip is to Turn Off the Water Supply 1
A drip is caused by seepage from the water supply. Remember,
regrets enter the heart under pressure, so there must be a watertight
seal holding back the incoming sadness or guilt or shame. That seal
is usually created by a fist pressed tightly against the mouth. Obviously,
when the fist or the mouth is not functioning properly, water can seep
through and weep from the eyes. To stop the leak all you usually have to do
is turn off the supply at a nearby shutoff, but, if your system is not equipped
with valves for individual disappointments, you’ll have to turn off everything.
1Club, Fix-It. “How to Do Faucet Repairs.” 03 May 2006. HowStuffWorks.com.
Terry Hall Bodine is a graduate of the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Recent publication credits include Roanoke Review, The Tishman Review, Scintilla, and Cathexis Northwest Press. Terry lives in Lynchburg with her husband, Bill, and works with student life at University of Lynchburg.