On the West Side of the Bed

                                           O, the startled bird of cry, O
                                           This is bliss
                                           This is glimpse of God/his
                                           signature on everything I am
becoming.
Am I earth or fire? he asks.
I stare at his wedding band. How to refuse—
              A cup without handles
              An awning that sags
Attachments
Will I ever leave this bed?
Will he take me somewhere I can wear
my hat?
              The key to his room is a razor’s wrist
A tampering with aspirin
Do I take this man
Do I take this man

The good monk dying says:
              Mistake after mistake






Click here to listen to Kathleen Hellen reading "On the West Side of the Bed"

Kathleen Hellen is a poet and the author of The Girl Who Loved Mothra (Finishing Line Press, 2010). She is the recipient of the 2011 poetry prize from H.O.W. Journal. Her work has appeared most recently in The Broome Review, Cave Wall, Cimarron Review, The Evansville Review, Poetry Northwest, and SmokeLong Quarterly, among others; and on WYPR’s “The Signal.” Her poems were included in Sunrise from Blue Thunder, an anthology from Pirene’s Fountain. She is senior editor for The Baltimore Review.