The DMQ Review

Sharon Hudson © 2003

Pieces of Wood

 

The rooster's call finds me
in this kitchen chair as dawn begins.
And I think of Peter:

how the third crow made him wish
that night erased. He craved dirt

to take the taste of sawdust from his tongue.
Denial rusts the mouth, and when swallowed,
nailed-tight spikes stack from pit to throat.

I stare at this burnt-down wick. It floats
suspended in a pool of wax; its rose
scent fled an hour ago. I dip
my fingertips and roll
a pliant ball. Does changing form

retain essence? Without its legs,
this table would remain a wooden slab.
When Peter ran, the echo chased his shadow

into the parting sky. A glance
nailed reality to wood.
The rooster stopped his crow
and I, for once, will heed this call.

Alba Cruz-Hacker
Copyright © 2003

Alba Cruz-Hacker was born in the Dominican Republic, and resides in Southern California with her husband and three children. She is completing a BA in Creative Writing- Poetry and plans to attend an MFA program. Some of her recent work appears in the on-line journal Can We Have Our Ball Back.

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