Her Housekeeping   
(from Three Visitors)

She furnished the room
That she carried inside her
With invisible souvenirs.

This was the pane of glass
She installed in her heart.
Here’s A shadow of his palm on her breast
Just after the lights went out.
In that corner a credenza
Holds all the words
They forgot to say
In a language she doesn’t know.

Each evening, after supper,
She carefully dusts everything
Until her breath falls silent.

– Mark J. Mitchell of San Francisco, California is the winner of the
2009 Negative Capability Press International Chapbook Competition.