920

Paula cuts her foot
on a shell
limps back to the car
bleeds on the tile
in the condo

her husband bandages the cut
while blood matts the hair
on his knuckles and fingers

when he washes the blood off
it spins and hurdles around
the white of the sink
leaving behind little pink
spots and stripes

she’s crying the whole time
holding her leg
but not the foot
she goes down to the shin
with her hands
then winces
as if she can feel it
the pain
in the skin

he gives her the pills
from his back surgery
and she limps
to the porch
to watch the waves
crash and greet the sand

she says the pain is gone
from her foot
she doesn’t know why she can’t
stop crying