My grandmother’s teeth stare at her
from a mason jar on the nightstand.
The radio turns itself on,
sunlight crawls through the window,
and she thinks she feels her bright blue eyes
rolling out her head.
She’s certain her blood has turned to dirt,
that beetles haunt the dark hollow of her bones.
The clock on the kitchen wall is missing its big hand.
The potatoes in the sink are growing eyes.
She stares at my grandfather standing in the doorway,
his smile flickering like the side of an axe.
Outside, in the yard, a chicken hops
through the tall grass, looking for its head.
(Chris Tusa)
More Poetry from Chris Tusa:
- Hypochondriac (Chris Tusa Poems)
- Ode to Gumbo (Chris Tusa Poems)
- MARIE LAVEAU TALKS ABOUT MAGIC FROM A CONFESSIONAL IN ST. LOUIS CATHEDRAL (Chris Tusa Poems)
- KINDERGARTEN PORTRAIT OF MY MOTHER AT MARDI GRAS (Chris Tusa Poems)
- Snow White, to the Prince (Chris Tusa Poems)