A scolding faith; a discourse between hands,

in a precarious house assembled 

from cushions and blankets, about holding:

Gold rings, unchaperoned, set faithfully 

in a clay dish intended for hand soap,

itself set precariously within 

the bathroom sink drain’s vertiginous draw,

gleam in absent context, a clinging to 

abstraction: loose if not yet lost, released

before release; in the face of fingers

that scrabble hypothetically after 

their precious metaphor, or metaphors,

a slippery ring is holding out hope 

for static grace in a dish for hand soap.