Lay

lay hands—

as in:

When the priest laid hands upon the woman, dovesdescended and her mouth tanged—her throat, a flame.

or:

A husband should never lay hands on his wife.

lay for—

as in:

The husband’s eyes laid for the words I’m leavingto crawl out of a darkness transformed into orbsof milk and ink and oil.

lay about—

as in:

The woman holsters her son against her hip like a gun as ifthe boy could spew bullets—could keep the husband’s fistsfrom laying about her body.

lay aside—

as in:

As his hand pinned her neck, the woman lay asidehow she had watched a doctor stitch his thumb, howthey found his blood on a countertop, congealedlike a sleek black animal, and months later, howthe scarred finger would fold gently over hersand teach her to use chopsticks.

lay away—

as in:

When it became difficult to breathe, the woman laid away a large breathand hoped to have it later.

lay siege—

as in:

In order to lay siege on the country of her life, the husband poisonedwater he himself still drank.

lay out—

as in:

The woman wants to lay out an escape plan but has no moneyand a small son.

or:

The woman encounters an old friend working at the courthouseand is forced to lay out the police report, arrest record,restraining order, and all her other paperwork of shame.

lay of the land—

as in:

After seasons of survey the woman concludes she cannot discernthe lay of the land, as his footprints are always in flux, his hairgreasy then dry, his smile the size of her finger and thengigantic—suggesting his shadow may extend for miles.

lay to—

as in:

Lay to the anchor and stop your boat—even in open water.

lay into—

as in:

The husband laid into the woman, but she was lucky not to be laid intolike other women she knew whose names became headlines, whose faceswere X-rayed, whose bellies were scalpeled so the coroner could fish outeach lead-bloomed bullet.

lay it on thick—

as in:

The woman worries that everyone assumes in orderto get her husband arrested,she has laid it on thick.

lay open—

as in:

Lay open the woman’s body and find: four lovers, red and bluesiren lights, drafts of the husband’s suicide note, a dirt lot linedwith ragged tufts of yellow Chamisa in bloom.

lay by—

as in:

What if the train lays by as the landscape passes and the blurringof houses and trees and clouds is a pressure that keeps the train carcompressed into a freightless, stationary woman?

lay off—

as in:

The woman lays off an area for her wifeness, her happiness, and her family—then blesses the enclosure with flame.