The Way You Hold Your Knife
       

You hold it loosely, its blade so sharp,
so serrated,
it cuts with no more pressure than it takes to whisper
"I love you." Small finger neb-locked,
thumb at the tang, forefinger extended along the knife's back,
so that your whole hand looks from where I sit
as if it's about to start making shadow-pictures,
you separate this from that without a single thought
of why or why not. Relaxation, tension.
Tension, relaxation. Everything happens
along a bumpy road....And then you glance up,
carefully place your knife and fork along the plate's outer rim,
elbows returning to your sides like perfect hinges
and ask me with your eyes, "What? What?"
smiling, your voice just slightly off-key,
as if you didn't already know my choking answer.

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Copyright © 2019 Dick Allen All rights reserved
from Boulevard
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission