I bite my tongue clean off
in my sleep and wake
with the dumb slug of it
on the pillow. The night fills
my mouth, warm and thick.
As the days get longer,
witching hour moves
to accommodate the light.
Witching makes its own
light. The tongue elongates
and slithers to my sleeping husband’s
ear. It is poised on the edge.
Do I tell him? The bloody
but mundane spells
that keep this family thriving?
Emily Hockaday’s second collection, In a Body, is forthcoming with Harbor Editions October 2023. Her first full-length, Naming the Ghost, debuted with Cornerstone Press in September 2022. She is the author of six poetry chapbooks, most recently Beach Vocabulary out from Red Bird Chaps & Name this Body from Thrash Press. Emily writes about ecology, parenthood, chronic illness, grief, and the urban environment. You can find Emily on the web at emilyhockaday.com or @E_Hockaday.