**The Nail in the Boot**

**Gin and tonic in hand, I sit,**

**trying to write of love, of life—**

**but his voice, loud and boisterous,**

**shakes the quiet, rattles my mind.**

**A large man. A presence. A weight.**

**The drink takes hold,**

**I’m feeling bold.**

**With my father’s voice behind my tongue,**

**Oi! Ye cunt, keep it down!**

**Some of us are trying to think.**

**He blinks. A pause. A...

It’s the middle of November and I’m trudging through three feet of snow because, much to my dismay, bodies don’t burry themselves. I warned him. I told him if he hurt her again it would be the last time. I love that woman. I was never able to come to terms with the demons of my past to be the man she needed. She loved me but the pain of who I am always kept us apart. My distrust. My inability ...