Veronica Tucker
Counterfactual, With Light Left On
There is a version of me
who leaves the house cleanly
keys in hand
no inventory
the sink empty
counters bare
no small shoes by the door
the body is uninterrupted
it belongs
to itself
no sudden pull
no waking already in motion
in that version
silence expands
fills the rooms
I try to picture her
how she moves
through a space
that does not ask
but something resists
a light is left on
in a room no one enters
as if she expects
or cannot stop
Veronica Tucker is an emergency medicine and addiction medicine physician and writer in New Hampshire. Her work has appeared in The Offing, ONE ART, and American Poetry Journal, among others. Her chapbook, “The House as Witness”, was published by Quillkeepers Press in 2026. Her writing has received Pushcart Prize and Best of the Net nominations and recognition from Best Microfiction. A lifelong New Englander, she lives with her husband, three children, and two dogs.