secret rooms

We pull all the books from our hallway shelf,
one by one, like removing bricks,
as if to reveal a secret room,
a hidden way out.

We pull all the books from our living-room shelf,
title by title, like extracting teeth,
until only rows of wooden gums remain,
rectangular mouths gaped in surprise.

All these books
now huddled in beer boxes,
revealing the secret rooms
hidden inside our mouths.