another recovery poem
i
what’s a mug without maple smoke?
what’s a smoke without a nod?
what’s a nod without red mud rivers?
call it a leaky faucet.
call it a protection spell.
a new name, something
weathered.
ii
if you call it a relapse // whisper
iii
your soft mouth, like honeyed ash.
my moth, hammered in the doorway.
I will sip sweat from the carpet.
paint our walls the color of your sick.
i
what’s a mug without maple smoke?
what’s a smoke without a nod?
what’s a nod without red mud rivers?
call it a leaky faucet.
call it a protection spell.
a new name, something
weathered.
ii
if you call it a relapse // whisper
iii
your soft mouth, like honeyed ash.
my moth, hammered in the doorway.
I will sip sweat from the carpet.
paint our walls the color of your sick.
Kora Schultz is a Wisconsin-based poet, creative writing student, and an assistant editor with Juke Joint Magazine. Their work has appeared in Goat’s Milk Magazine and The Hellebore. You can find them on Instagram and Twitter at @oatmilkmom.