Borrowed Corkscrew
She sits
on that frayed cigarette burn carpet
right beside me.
So close our tired feet
come together.
Everything bent at the knee
like a curve in the road
you ride the failing
brake into.
That borrowed corkscrew sloppy way
the cork breaks off before
we ever get to the wine.
Both avoiding the bed.
As though it is something
you can’t come
back from.
Questions I ask my husband while pondering break-up
How long do butterflies live in captivity?
Do birds kiss? And if they do, how often?
What is the color of loneliness?
Is loneliness a disease?
Can a cheat still love the person they cheated on?
Are freckles considered beautiful?
What name means moon in Japanese?
What sins will keep us out of heaven?
Will you learn all my poems by heart, if I die?
Réka Nyitrai is a spell, a sparrow, a lioness’s tongue — a bird nest in a pool of dusk. She is the recipient of a Touchstone Distinguished Books Award for 2020 for her debut haiku volume “While Dreaming Your Dreams” (Valencia Spain: Mono Ya Mono Books, 2020).
Rusty Truck