An unease tries to clamber
up stainless-steel sides,
will not drain
with the dishwater.
What’s in the kitchen
won’t behave,
won’t lay down
like carrots to be chopped.
For all my paring of fingers
the wooden spoon won’t grasp,
the serving dish
breaks in the sink.
Joseph Hardy
Author
Joseph Hardy (67) is one of a handful of writers that live in Nashville, Tennessee, that does not play a musical instrument; although a friend once asked him to bring his harmonica on a camping trip so they could throw it in the fire. His wife says he cannot leave a room without finding out something about everyone in it and telling her their stories later. His work has been published in Gyroscope Review, Inlandia, Penultimate Peanut, and the tiny journal among others.
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