Suzanne Langlois

Alternate Ending

Put down the putty knife, Juliet. It’s not
the right tool for what you’re trying to do,
which appears to be prying the stopper
from the mouth of a bottle of poison.
You’re only going to snap off the corner
of the blade, and then the stopper will still
be stuck and you’ll also be unable to apply
spackle to the nail holes left in your bedroom
wall where you took down all the paintings
that reminded you that you are alive. Here,
take this sanding block. Let me show you
how to cut a new piece of 60 grit so you can
remove the R.M. in a heart that you secretly
sharpied into the bedframe and hid behind
a pile of pillows. The repetitive motion will
be good for you. Take your mind off things.
Hand me that Phillips-head, will you?
The screws on your balcony-railing need
tightening to prevent it from tearing loose
while you’re leaning against it, staring up
at the inconstant moon like it’s staring back.
Look, Juliet, the moon is actually staring at you,
wondering what you’re up to with that handful
of finishing nails. And look, suddenly you’ve
got a whole-ass trade to practice. No need
for a nunnery or an early date with a marble
monument, unless you’re carving it yourself,
happy chisel plucked, unrusted, from its sheath.

Suzanne Langlois

Suzanne Langlois is a teacher from Portland, Maine. Her collection “Bright Glint Gone” won the 2019 Maine Writers and Publishers Alliance chapbook award. Her work has appeared in journals such as Quarterly West, Rust + Moth, Cider Press Review, Scoundrel Time, and in the 2022 Best New Poets Anthology. She holds an MFA from Warren Wilson College.