I made a mistake– chopping
onions and mushrooms
in the house
we both live I wanted to
cook us a meal
to forgive a prior mistake
though you say that’s not
how it works. Nothing
works since the new year
when I blacked out
and fell for another
in front of you
and everyone else
so we both rode
home crying in
subzero darkness
and snow and we
haven’t stopped since.
It’s the coldest week
in Ohio in years
and today we want
to stay in. We can’t
think of anything
else. Which is why
I didn’t notice
the plastic spatula drop
into the stovetop flame
and melt into an air
of a future cancer
how I only noticed
from the toxic smell
burning my nose
and though I cleaned
up the black scraps
with Goo Gone,
heat, and spoonscrapes,
the smell lingers
in every plastic product
(the new shower liner,
the Ziploc bags to carry)
every time we step
onto the white
tiles of our kitchen

(originally published in CERASUS, Summer 2021)