by H.M. Cotton
Line Work
Because I spread
the grout by hand
along the tile’s
corner seam, and
because the seams
are just an eighth
the mix goes on
easier than it comes
away; and grit
grimes under
my nails, looks like dirt
or, rather, ash
brings back the time I spent
rearranging bones
inside the crematorium
before I’d have to grind
the spine, chunks of skull,
and whatever bits the fire
didn’t get, to bag and box
for mantles and bedside
tables, and now—like then—
the black lather
trying to soap
the stain away.
H. M. Cotton is the managing editor of Birmingham Poetry Review, contributing editor for NELLE, and production manager for both journals. Her writing appears in places such as Greensboro Review, Poetry South, and SmokeLong Quarterly. She is the founding director of the SPARK Writing Festival and teaches at the University of Alabama at Birmingham.
Anthony Afairo Nze is a graphic designer from Indianapolis, Indiana. His artwork is created through Adobe photoshop and hand-drawn. For more of his art, visit his Instagram at @afairosgallery.
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