Split Tooth

by Tanya Tagaq

The freeze traps life and stops time. The thaw releases it. We can smell the footprints of last fall and the new decomposition of all who perished in the grips of winter.

Wind sings but carries an axe instead of a note.

This is the gift rape gives It is not violence against women It is violence done by men

Famine can live in your bones and be passed on to future generations just like your hair colour.

There are five spirits, three children, and two goldfish here today. Thimbles and needles are restless. Nobody smokes but there is an ashtray on the coffee table just in case. An old aunt with jutting shoulder blades rests in the back room with a pillowcase full of memories and the hands of her dead husband holding her head up.

What keeps you alive in crisis can kill you once you are free.