After Thanksgiving

A sore throat and breath like gasoline

A pimple screaming from the inside of a snotty nose

Coffee spills on already-stained bedsheets

A stomach squeals from the belly button like a

Six month old in a booster begging for more pumpkin puree

Yellow leaves blow sideways on Poets Corner back streets

While a blonde girl in pajama bottoms and a puffy pink coat falls

From her bike and slams onto the cracked asphalt in front of

A house for sale that has a pool in the backyard

A teenager texts pick me up; let's get high

Another thumbs I’m sorry

A mother with razor-burned armpits and a threadbare robe carries

The hamper, her green quilted slippers kicking up dog hair along the way

Phone screens hum with Black Friday deals

A rat scurries away from its shadow on the top of a leaning fence

A gardener’s cold hands shut the door of his old Silverado

A dad, empty like wine bottles on the kitchen counter, pushes the

Beeping fridge door closed and removes plastic wrap from a pumpkin pie

A dog’s urine steams from the pebbles it splatters as a grandma sips coffee from a

Mug with faded lettering that reads Happy Holidays