The house catches fire tonight
while you are out playing Progressive Gin
with the neighbors.
It's not a five-alarmer
only a thicket of flames on the stovetop
but I am afraid still
because I can't remember it is baking powder or baking soda
I should use to put it out.
So I use corn starch and spit.
And in the morning
when you ask about the burn
blistering across the knuckle of my pinkie
I will say it is nothing.
But it is something.