home equity loan.
break the glass,
tell me not to worry about the pieces.
when i kneel to pick them up with bare hands
pick me up and bind them.
put me in the car and tell me world news,
tell me about my great grandmother:
“she was a teacher when women were nothing
more than the bones to build a home on top of.”
i’ve been awake for thirty-one hours
and still can’t sleep.
every time i try, i trip over pain
that i know i put away already;
pack the difficult things into boxes,
seal with caution tape
and pile on top of the boxes
where i packed the good things, and the things
that were just alright.
they’re sitting in the corner of your apartment,
taking up space.
you could put a nice coffee table there.
Isobel Burke is a Canadian poet born and raised on Vancouver Island. She was shortlisted for the 2024 Bridport Prize for Poetry and her poetry collection, inheritance, won the Saints & Sinners Literary Festival poetry contest in 2023. Her work has appeared or is forthcoming in publications including PRISM International, Pinhole Poetry, and Anti-Heroin Chic.
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