Holes— a Free Verse Poem Response
#POMprompt 4 — Intrusions
Child-sized hole in my living room wall.
The intrusion of truth, packed in with syrupy lies.
Hole in my bedroom wall, this one I saw him do.
He could not explain that one away.
Holes in my life, shattered like drywall
in the midst of his anger.
Holes can be repaired — but not before lies
must cover them, with excuses, with stories;
spackling with shame is a terrible way to repair.
I covered up holes. In the wall. The ones on my face,
my eyes, my ears, my mouth (that one must stay shut, right?)
I painted them over in carefully selected shades
of buttery-white, eggshell finish, easy to clean.
Holes. You can fall through holes if you aren’t careful.
Legs, arms, heart — right through holes in the wall
into spaces of black that do not see the light.
Lies are best kept in the darkness anyway.
Falling in is convenient. It spares us the explanation.
