Emily O’Neill’s “sure as you liveâ€
she’s joking
about the dogs
being killed as if
dinner isn’t dead
on the table / scotch
is the only kindness
afforded guests / sorry
I can’t cross my ankles
properly / sorry my tongue
rolled up window shade /
there’s a hook forming
over the front porch / when the tornado
touches down we’re
nowhere near ditch
or basement / our basement
bathroom, still unfinished /
bathtub we joke full
of blood / we joke a ghost
reburied / sorry I won’t launch
any ships / sorry sitting is as hideous
a profession as / what computers are
for / a howl I might imitate
& call my father / he cut off
death’s tail & threw it down
the basement for our dogs / the ones
we weren’t allowed to have / dogs
running down the fence / un-culled