The Nail Poem by Suki Nakamura

the nail finally decided to try
to go out and dress like a woman.
inside the night club, the nail
did the hip-hop

and when it was so dark outside
that night
she pressed her nose on the dry earth
at the park
the nail does not know how to
cry or scream
but sometimes the sharp tip
of its foot
would kick and hurt and be so cruel.

it carried nothing to beat
away some fog.
it looks upon the fountain
at the center of the town
and sees its face on the clear pond
near the church.
having made love to a man
the nail could not heal a longing.
she could not speak
somehow