Intimidation, only love he knows.
When night chases away the day, its worse,
Nowhere to go but bed, where I lie still
Praying he finds me fast asleep so he
Won’t pick and peck at my too weary bones

But floorboards creak, an omen foreshadows
A light in the hall, the smell of his thoughts,
Goose flesh, I bite and barely breathe as he
Mumbles stumbles and falls. The lamp shatters
Loudly the pig calls out my name, “Hera!”

Musty mixture of booze with sweat and smoke
As I mollycoddle him to our bed
Before I pay for some made up offense,
Punishable by fists and force on face.

Later that night, with lit cigarette on
Back stoop, I conjure curses as I sit
In muted stillness, far-off from bell chimes that
Wind would play like magic when God Breathed,
Long before beatings, before Mighty Zeus

My stomach ties and unties double knots
I am stranded in this valley alone,
Between Mount Everest and Olympus.