The Gap in the Window

“Crack the window” she said and he did                    and the gap in the window was a gap,
    not a crack, and the gap was                      the desert between the divided worlds
of the lichen and spiders and borer          of the great window.
     The air that passed in good terms through the gap in the window
was good air and it made the room          shiver with pleasure,
     it raised goosebumps on the grey walls     and this was the song
of the gap in the window,       the song that chilled
     her bare elbow and caused her to say,       “Close the window, will you?”
He brought down the top of the window        and the gap in the window
     screamed and screamed every inch of the way    and he lay down on the sofa-bed
and she took the earmuffs down         from a hook on the wall and
     with a steely jaw finished the job.