Marion Deutsche Cohen
Nail-Biters Liberation
Short nails.
Short cute nails.
Chubby stubby cuddly nails.
Nails the shape of confetti.
Nails the color of fine maple.
Piano nails. Typewriter nails.
Nails like children’s nails.
Nails that don’t peek over the edges.
Nails that don’t fit into corners.
Nails that don’t tap.
Nails that don’t tempt.
Nails that don’t break.
Nails that don’t scratch.
Mini-nails, acorn nails, Pac-Man nails, Lily-of-the-Valley nails.
Little moons, little universes.
Nails inside fingers like babies inside buntings.
Anyway, short nails.
Especially those thumb nails.
Twice as wide as they are long
it’s a family trait.
It’s a family treat.
They’re not nails, they’re hammers.
They’re not thumbs, they’re thumpers.
But all of them, nails.
Short, short nails.
Short
nails.
Short
sweet
nails.