This is the Life
7 Yes, I Still Feel All the Break-Ups in My Poems
After Aimee Nezhukumatathil's "Are All the Break-Ups in Your Poems Real?"
Yes, I can show you the scar from the shark tooth,
the stickiness long after the lollipop melts,
the blood under the nail from the thumbtack that held their picture on the wall –
so, Yes, although they feel too raw, every fight,
slap, and scratch. Shocker. They are part of my soul.
They are the soul-ties I cannot break.
All of them, an entire satchel full of broken memories.
I have dried bouquets and extra pounds on my hips.
Even now, they tally up the way they’ve been the provider
for us – bringing home the “bacon,” bringing home the
kids from school. They mow the lawn, and they fix
the car. They paint the house, they love me tender, and
they never fail to remind me of my place under their spell.