after dropping the fridge on andrew's toe while we were moving house

later that night
he cringed in pain
and i said
- does it hurt
and he said
- yes
so i said
- go to the doctor
and he said
- no, it'll be okay

the next night
he cringed in pain
and i said
- does it hurt
and he said
- yes
so i said
- go to the doctor
and he said
- no, it'll be okay

a month later
he cringed in pain
and i said
- does it hurt
and he said
- yes
so i said
- go to the doctor
and he said
- no, it'll be okay

three months later
he cringed in pain
and i said
- does it still hurt
and he said
- yes
so i said
- go to the doctor
and he said
- no, it'll be okay

after two more months
he cringed in pain
and i said
- does it still hurt
and he said
- yes
so i said
- go to the doctor
and he said
- no, it'll be okay

nine months after i dropped
the fridge on andrew's toe
while we were moving house
he hadn't said anything
in a while
so i kicked him in the toe
and said
- how's your foot feeling?
and he said
- fine. why?

Paula Harris

Published in Poetry NZ 26
March 2003