Morning Blood After Coffee

She woke me
for a sit-down
warned me I
needed coffee
first, but the spin
cycle in my stomach
already hit before
any caffeine comfort
remedy. Braced
for another talk
about my various
addictions, news
of a bleeding ceiling
came as relief. Melted
snow seeped its way
under the rubber skin
into second-rate wood
communed with metal

and dripped through a hole
drilled to hang our
witch ball. Drops spattered
the alcove walls and floor.
Blood is much easier to clean
when it’s not your own.

1/27/11