Open

By Jean Valentine
I lay down under language
it left me and I slept

—You, the Comforter, came into the room

my blood, my mouth
all buttoned away—

Makers of houses, books, clothes-
makers, goodbye—

Copyright Credit: Jean Valentine, "Open" from Shirt in Heaven. Copyright © 2015 by Jean Valentine.  Reprinted by permission of Copper Canyon Press, www.coppercanyonpress.org.
Source: Shirt in Heaven (Copper Canyon Press, 2015)