HOLLOW TEETH

Don’t whistle past the tree line Don’t answer from the creek The hollow has teeth But it never lied to me Boot prints in the red mud Two sets going in One came back at sunrise With pine pitch on his skin Mama kept the lamp low Supper cooling on the plate Said the woods will take a girl If she wanders out too late But I saw hymn-book smiles With blackberry on their tongues Saw clean hands bless the carving Then reach beneath the cloth They told me fear the branches They told me fear the dark But the brambles only held me Where the good ones left a mark And something in the black trees Started singing where I bled The hollow has teeth But it never lied to me They warned me of the wolves While they sharpened every smile The hollow has teeth And it taught my eyes to see All the hunger wearing Sunday clothes And calling itself kind If I run, let the creek know If I scream, let the pines keep The hollow has teeth But it never lied to me Hollow, hollow Don’t you hide me sweet Hollow, hollow Show your teeth There were ribbons on the railing There were prayers above the door There were jars of sugared peaches Stacked like debts along the floor Everybody loved the quiet Everybody blessed the blade Called the bite a family secret Called the missing girls a shame I found hair caught in the laurel Found a button by the spring Found the truth inside the foxglove Where the church bell would not ring Maybe monsters are not monsters When they look you in the eye Maybe teeth are not the danger Maybe teeth just do not lie And something in the black trees Put its breath against my neck The hollow has teeth But it never lied to me They warned me of the wolves While they sharpened every smile The hollow has teeth And it taught my eyes to see All the hunger wearing Sunday clothes And calling itself kind If I run, let the creek know If I scream, let the pines keep The hollow has teeth But it never lied to me Do not call it evil Just because it bites Some mouths only open When the truth comes out at night Do not call them holy Just because they pray Some hands know the hymn book And still drag you away I was not saved by softness I was not spared by light I was found by something feral That could smell who lied Count the teeth Count the names Count the girls They called to blame Count the plates Count the knives Count the smiles That ate their lives Now the ground knows Now the creek speaks Now the mountain opens up With hollow teeth The hollow has teeth But it never lied to me They warned me of the wolves While they sharpened every smile The hollow has teeth And it taught my eyes to see All the hunger wearing Sunday clothes And calling itself kind If I run, let the creek know If I scream, let the pines keep The hollow has teeth But it never lied to me The hollow has teeth And it taught me how to bite Not to hurt the living Just to drag the truth to light Don’t whistle past the tree line Don’t answer from the creek The hollow has teeth But it never lied to me