i am driving down the familiar road home.
i melt into the abnormally plush seat, and
as pleasant lingering echoes of dolores
mingle well with robert's fiery heartbreak,
i feel my body sigh with welcome relief.

i make the same right turn i have made
five thousand times before this night,
and my eyes are accosted by ******
ribs and a flimsy excuse for a carcass.
it is not gruesome or horrifying at all,
the spectacle simply exists in my mind.

but then, after that split second of
involuntary reaction, my eyes and
my mind and my vehicle are close
enough to comprehend what i see:

the ****** carcass is little more
than a plant,
red stems for ribs and brown leaves
for flesh.