corkscrew splits when prying loose
coppola‘s aged cabernet sauvignon

you once opened a bottle in a hotel
with a flatiron i bring down a steamer

the bottle perspires with no release my cat
nearly walks into the heat i’m thankful you are

present my spine so soft can’t keep anyone
safe best not dwell my memories

are triglycerides clinging the tender
parts of brain we go downhill to rite-aid

we’re told it’s barren look elsewhere
a beer store closing the clerk in desperate

gasp seeks three screws he can use
to make a tool makeshift but alas

the shoe method works he says take
your boot pound with force try

as we might against my home’s brick no
way to get how we feel into the open

(originally published in RUNDELANIA, Fall 2024)