Dishes
The tree is bleeding
my husband says
eyes wide--
wider
than when our oldest
broke his collarbone
into a tent.
I leave the sink
faucet running
to see
what he sees.
The tree is
bleeding.
There--
the bark splits
the sap
drips--
No--
dripped--
as if mother nature paused
mid-sentence
between laundry
and dishes
to care
for another one
of her children.
my husband says
eyes wide--
wider
than when our oldest
broke his collarbone
into a tent.
I leave the sink
faucet running
to see
what he sees.
The tree is
bleeding.
There--
the bark splits
the sap
drips--
No--
dripped--
as if mother nature paused
mid-sentence
between laundry
and dishes
to care
for another one
of her children.
Marcy Beller Paul (she/her) is an author and former editor. She graduated from Harvard University and lives in New Jersey with her husband and two children. Her novel, Underneath Everything, was published by Balzer + Bray, an imprint of HarperCollins, and her poetry has appeared in Blood Tree Literature.