--LOVE WILL TEAR US APART

Tuck, Tuck

I was thinking about that

Goose with the broken wing
How it kept trying to tuck its arm—tuck, tuck
—in order to get it unstuck
You said I should call someone, an animal shelter
And after I did, getting a recording saying they’d closed shop
I looked out the window and saw the bird was gone
The flat-bellied boulder empty but for itself
And two stray feathers floating
Like open palms in the lake
Trembling, you drew me into your chest
Where the jagged rhythm of your heartbeat
Tapped rapid code across my cheek
That was six summers ago
Before the storm and the slick roadway
Which wouldn’t let you slide straight
Now I lay my arm on the kitchen counter
Raise and drop a cement block
The pain red hot and searing
I stagger down to the lakefront
Sit on the slab, tuck and tuck
Trying to get unstuck
Hoping you can see me
From wherever you are