My parents appear in a dimly-lit kitchen–
orange floral wallpaper, sunburst clock,
marigold countertops, crocheted tablecloth,
wilted spider plant in a macrame hanger.
Dad sits at a table, tries to read the paper.
There is no news.
Eats Cream of Wheat out of a blue bowl
I have boxed somewhere in my basement.
Mom wonders why there isn’t a sink.
Points to shelf after shelf of bottled water.
None of them open, she says.
& Dad confirms their stubbornness with a nod.
I note his empty glass,
the half-moons frowning on his fingernails, the cracks
in Mom’s lips, the plastic fortress
of Smartwaters stacked from popcorn ceiling
to swollen linoleum floor—
I must be thirsty.
They must be here to quench something—
It’s useless. We have already tried.
I can do it, I say.
But I am not confident.
& my mouth is dry
& I have no tears left as I take in a close-up
of my thin-skinned hands opening
container after container after container—
We are all amazed I have succeeded.
No one drinks any water
& this is how it ends.
–
Victoria Nordlund is an adjunct professor at the University of Connecticut. Her poetry collection Homer Saw a Wine-Dark Sea was published by Main Street Rag in September 2020. She is a Best of the Net and Pushcart Prize Nominee, whose work has appeared in PANK Magazine, Chestnut Review, Rust+Moth, Pidgeonholes, and elsewhere. Visit her at VictoriaNordlund.com.
© 2022, Victoria Norlund
Halfway Down the Stairs 