Sticky heat clouds the windows.
He carries the kettle-boiled water,
a rag round his knuckles
to swallow steam.
He fills the outer pot:
the glue bubbles.
I cross my hands
beneath my bottom
while he mixes the foggy muck.
I’ll
use this on your running mouth.
Nick Ripatrazone?s work has been anthologized in The Long Meanwhile: Stories of Arrival and Departure (Hourglass Books, 2007), and has also appeared in Hobart, Yale Anglers? Journal, Eclectica, Blood Orange Review, National Catholic Reporter, Southern Gothic, and elsewhere. He is pursuing an MFA from the University of Texas, El Paso.