Seething

My anger,

my loudness

my craving that I’ve been holding in

controlling

denying starts to seep out

not in slow, small portions but

all         at         once.

Flaring like a blowtorch

out of control

scorching those in my path.

Lewis and I battle

constantly over my

mowing the grass half-assed,

taking sloppy phone messages,

and not rewinding the VHS tapes.

He hates me my habit

of staying up late

having no energy all day,

and the way my temper

snaps like a rubber band aimed at

Cara and Christopher, who seem so

spoiled and annoying now.

One morning Lewis

storms into my room,

lifts me from bed,

carries me down the hallway

and dumps me directly

into the bathtub.

Promises, “The next time you

try sleeping past eleven,

that shower will be on.”

Mom imagines

“what the neighbors must think.”

Our sweet house

all its extra windows releasing

screams, hollers, and

door SLAMs!

The ghosts of our brand-new start

haunting us.