Cole Depuy
You have to keep breaking your heart until it opens.
—Rumi
I prefer a knife
to pry between
a couple of ribs
while I shower.
Let the scarlet
pour
into a cloud
around the drain.
Afterwards,
blood gurgles
when I release
the towel
& I’ve snapped
a black thread
or two stitching
myself shut,
but it’s better
than not being
ready when
the angel I’ve
yet to find appears.
***
Cole Depuy’s poetry has appeared or is forthcoming in The Penn Review, Boston Accent, Heartwood, pacificREVIEW and elsewhere. He is a Ph.D. student at SUNY Binghamton’s Creative Writing Program and recipient of the Provost’s Doctoral Summer Fellowship.