poem of the day 12.13.10

collateral damage

friday night
cat’s big ass in the way
one bottle of wine
down
two scotches
the radio coming in static

turn to fix
the antenna
knock the cat
knock the radio
knock the big sage and citrus
yankee candle
off of the coffee table

the candle shattering
into a million pieces
the radio still not working
the cat prostrate
with only her small head up
hissing at me

i rise
take a piece of glass
right in the center of my foot
pull it out
it takes a second
but then the blood starts gushing
all over the floor
the carpet
the village voice

my wife up off the couch
to get wet paper towels
cloth and broom
the blood won’t stop
i feel like passing out
christ, i think
what a pussy
as the radio goes to complete
white noise static

my wife comes back
blood on my feet
blood on my hands
blood on her hands
and the cat goes back to sleep

will i have to go to
the hospital? i ask
my wife says i don’t know
hands me a wet paper towel
to clean up the blood
to help clot the wound
then looks at me
and says of course
you won’t have to go to the hospital

i sit there
as she sweeps the glass
cleans the blood off the floor
off the carpet
i sit there and try to drink my wine
try to fix the radio
but the cat’s huge ass
is still in the way

so i turn to watch
the white lights on the christmas tree
i sit there for fifteen minutes
thinking about another night
turned into collateral damage
in the long war called life

when i take the
pink blood paper towel off of
the wound
i see that it is no bigger than a pinhole
leaving me no alternative
but to laugh
and ask my wife
what movie she wants to watch
tonight.