Two Poems by Stephanie Smith

GUILTY

They say we all have to begin somewhere
A little speck captured in a sonogram
grows into the teenager
you want to slap in the face

I found my wife bathing in the sink again
I can tell she’s had sex with the neighbor
She can no longer sit in the tub because
the drain’s filled up with hair

She feels guilty and I feel guilty
for wanting to slap her in the face

They say we all gotta go sometime
and there’s no time like the present

I’m feeling guilty
as I clean up the blood in the bathtub,
scrubbing away all traces of her scent



THE PAST IS ONE SICK BASTARD

Imagine being
raped by your own past
and carrying the
cross forever
Why bother going on
when all the bars are closed –
and blood oozes out
from underneath the doors,
out of every single pore?
You can’t strip this skin,
this dirty skin you’re stuck in
And the past just laughs
and slaps your face
and wonders who
else you’ve been with