Lila Shea
The plate is broken.
An ashen mosaic on the floor under
his son who sobs reprised apologies.
But the father sweeps the shards away
alone without a word before
returning to the kaleidoscope sink.
The dishwasher is broken.
The scent of daylily dish soap waltzing along
pruned hands, water leaping to his
faded orange National Park t-shirt.
The floor fan duels with the
encroaching summer in a blaring rage.
The air conditioner is broken.
His brow creases with the weight of his
thoughts. Words spill out in
mumbles as if the thoughts are
overflowing, his dam brain
cannot hold it all.
The wifi is broken.
His wife’s irritability lengthens down
her house. He piles an ivory pillar of plates next to
The Bully Pulpit, page creased with precision in the
same place as seven months ago, and leaves to
help his wife.
Lila Shea is a sophomore from Oak Park, Illinois majoring in English Literature with a minor in Gender & Sexuality Studies. In her free time she figure skates, puts on outfits she won’t wear outside her dorm, and daydreams about escaping the Midwest.
