Someone Else's Work
The ones in hats and coats are on their way to church. Twins try not to
finish each others daydream. The woman's car contains no room for
anyone but her. Someone takes credit for someone else's work.
Twins tried hard not to be left-handed. Second cousins did not know
they were related. Someone took credit for someone else's work. The
step child the cold settled in for the night.
Second cousins do not want to marry. The bowl with the dragonfly
makes the cereal taste better. The step child the cold spoons with her
bedmate. When will the fathers come home?
The bowl with the dragonfly lived for emptiness. What the lawns had
to say was overrated. When did the fathers come home? The ones
with the hats and coats were happy to be in church.
Reel It Back In
She's a firecracker someone said. She is the daughter who loves
her father. The father the leaves fall because the weather wins. The
mother decided to hide in the closet among her clothes.
These words want to slip you into silence. This father and daughter
follow the lines on the road. The road wished something would reel it
back in. The rooms denied any role in what happened.
She's delicate someone thinks but she wins arguments. How mothers
gesture should mean something but doesn't. Daughters who love their
fathers twirl.
How she wears sunglasses on her head means a business deal is
struck. The mother hides in the closet. These words want to smash
something into pieces.
Andrew Cox is the author of two chapbooks: Company X (WordVirtual) and Fortune Cookies (2River). The Equation That Explains Everything will be published by BlazeVOX Press in Winter 2010. He lives in University City, Missouri. contact
Copyright 2River. Please do not use or reproduce without permission.