She Must Always Be Punctual (Four Poems)

                by Kelly Bushnell 


I
Open parentheses like expectant mothers: closed at birth or left if lost or aborted. 
(what) (then) (are) ((hers (and) (mine)) (?)


II
With whom does fault lie tangled in dirty sheets?
(Only punctuation knows the answer whether he [ate shot and left] or [ate, shot, and left.])


III
A quiet comma (braless and brilliant) subverts an entire genre and feels the wrath of Monday morning misogynists.


IV
Being (only right and never wrong) has its drawbacks.