No Good Comes of It

By Kate Sibery

I stacked my books on the sill

but every time there was wind 

they fell over

and every time it rained

they got wet.

So I moved the books to the floor

but they got stepped on 

instead of read.

I bought a bookshelf 

but couldn’t put it together

I swallowed the screws

which went down easy 

like cough drops or pennies

coppery and cold. 

I left the freezer open

for a day or two

to see how it would smell

which was bad

but not as bad as

the smell of paint

after I decided that every room 

should be the color green. 

The doctor told me

not to swallow any more screws

so I pocketed his tongue depressors

out of spite

and with the thought

that they might taste good later.