Scar Tissue – Christine Taylor

Wind battered the house for an age
and I spent the better part of my day off rehanging the gutters 
that fell in last night’s thunderstorm
hours consumed watching online videos to guide this maiden foray
climbing the ladder, reattaching the screw.

Yes, I know I have a need to fix what’s broken:
the old thermostat that insisted on 80 degrees in summer
the cracked wooden door ushering in the cold
the sniffly stray ginger kitten blind in one eye.

This house will be the most perfect refuge.

So when panic rattles your shutters
I will take you in my hands
stuff your holes with omelets, roasts, sautéed greens
convince you that loving doesn’t hurt
that it won’t leave you wandering an unlit hallway
climbing a hedgerow of thorns.

Once a cabinet door came loose
and I left it hanging on the hinge
pretended not to see it.
I didn’t last long before fetching the screwdriver
painting scratches in the varnish
the dings closed over.

Christine Taylor identifies as multiracial and is an English teacher and librarian residing in Plainfield, New Jersey.  She is the EIC of Kissing Dynamite: A Journal of Poetry and the author of The Queen City (Broken Sleep Books, 2019) and Petal (Bone & Ink Press, 2020. Visit her at www.christinetayloronline.com.