the jaw

un-

 

hooked from

behind the molar

 

and propped on 

the oily kitchen

 

table.

teeth with crown

 

and filling, 

gums and all—&

 

laughter that peels

the yellow wall-

 

paper, unfurling

like a scroll or

 

a map of the island—

vacant eyes, 

 

a mind that

clicks between the

 

incongruous, 

new asphalt, wafts

 

of petroleum—the

carnality of violence 

 

& nudity to store in 

secret backrooms 

 

though the key is

kept within reach. 

 

I am dying 

to know what

 

you thought of

the boy at the 

 

opposite end of the

table, looking

 

in-

to a cavern of 

 

silence & 

hoping

 

to hear

you speak. 

---

MATT VEKAKIS is a poet, educator & proud Bostonian. His work has been published in Poached Hare and Waccamaw Journal, and will be the feature of a new vocal work to be premiered by the Quorum Boston vocal ensemble in Summer 2019. In his spare time, Matt still likes to wear the medal he received as the runner-up state champion of the 2007 Connecticut Geography Bee.