How Close to Home are We? – A poem

How Close to Home are We?

Arms outstretched fingers sweeping an arc.
How close? Swish Swish
How close to home are we?

Cold cinders, sheepskin, sunflowers
Sweep twist stretch
Close, this close

Mark swearing on his way from the bathroom in his hat
How close to home are we?
shough, shough, shough, his knives run circuits of the kitchen

I sprawl on the sofa, face down in clover. Scraping wax from our hearth with my teeth
How close to home are we?
I bury my nose in my dog’s curly coat
Cheeks full of hot ashes and lemon peel.

-Anna Keleher