Everything I Have Is Broken
by Kyle Hemmings
i tell her that my pots and pans have scratches that never come out. My mother's old china no longer reflects. Its value is now estimated as drywall. The coffee maker can't process java. It doesn't heat-- just gurgles and dies. It dies each morning. The toilet needs some artful juggling. Yet, despite all of it, she likes me because of my smile that reminds her of HIM, who was yesterday. She says that whenever there is steel against sky there is the possibility of love, rebellious as The Garbage Heads who play Nu-Metal on East Second. She loves the smell of old bridges after a rain. i remind her how the neighborhood is going downhill, how at night there is the sound of cockroaches imitating humans making sex sounds with clenched jaws. The cockroaches go and die somewhere else. Still she insists she won't leave without a flag. You're the one, she exclaims wordlessly. i can read it in her yesterday eyes that were once bluer. She still believes i could be HIM, if i could just polish my act. i keep telling her that i'm today with no future; my apartment is only walls and punched-in holes. i keep telling her that i'm a veteran of three wars and we're still losing Avenue C to the bankers from gangrenous side-streets. i tell her I'm out of insecticide. i'm shaking an empty can. She doesn't care about that.
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I'm shaking an empty can. Love this line. And the crickets with clenched jaws. *
Thank you, Christopher!
"i remind her how the neighborhood is going downhill, how at night there is the sound of cockroaches imitating humans making sex sounds with clenched jaws." yep.
"i tell her I'm out of insecticide. i'm shaking an empty can. She doesn't care about that." - what an ending.
Thanks, Meg!!
What fantastic imagery here! I'd quote my favorite lines but Meg has already stolen and used them to celebrate this wonderful piece - thanks a bunch, Meg. . . fave
"The toilet needs some artful juggling"
Give me an oddball phrase like that, and you'll have my attention. *
This is ... different, yes, but the shaking of empty cans is soooo familiar. fav
Thank you, Mary Anne, Alex, and James!!
This is really really good. To the bone..
*
Thank you, so much, Susan!!
Evocative! Love this line: "She still believes i could be HIM, if i could just polish my act." Good title too.
Thank you, Kathy!
Great imagery, great situation, flat out terrific ending. *
Thank you, Jack and love that photo!
A touch of sadness in these lines, and defiance. I like that the woman loves this dude despite his lack of accroutements. The ending packs a wallop. Peace *
Thank you Linda for the wonderful comments!
Wonderful imagery, and those last two lines are fantastic.
Thank you, J.A., very much appreciated.
Excellent work.
Thank you, Tantra!