a place where hard men shift a boulder to plant a seed

House 

.....Manitoulin Island, Ontario

she was a doorframe
she was the windowpane in his blood

she breathed slowly by the sink
and thought of a tree in bloom
a warmth in her thighs against snowfall
sunlight quavered in a bowl of water

 he held the phrase matrimonial privacy
a mouthful of nails to hammer a stair toward the bedroom

winters later
he curls no larger than a loaf of bread
under strips of wallpaper
mewling for home