The day I knew you died
was the day my brother called
and the day the cat left a half-eaten mouse on the front porch.
Its tail was still there,
and a little bit of pink intestine,
like an exclamation mark.
I swore silently.
Trudging toward the back field that evening,
(the mosquitoes were a *****),
I found you in the creek,
half submerged with your *** in the air.
You were covered in dirt and blood.
I put my hands on my hips and swore again.
I could see even from where I was standing
that your windshield was smashed all to hell
and your right front tire was punctured.
I would never ride with you again,
never share those starry skies
as we passed bloated raccoons
and greasy ditches.
Anger lurked behind my eyes.
Your killer was lying a few feet away,
Three broken legs
and a shattered back,
with glassy eyes that stared blankly up at the sky.
In a few days I would have its antlers above the mantelpiece.
But meanwhile
I looked at my brother,
who was standing there sheepishly,
two unbroken hands shoved in his deep denim pockets,
and told him he was paying for the tow.

She stepped onto the silent stair,
Her hair undone, her shoulders bare.
The moonlight that shone down was where
The sky fell in, a sad affair.

The wooden steps she stepped on squeaked,
The cobwebbed railing cringed and creaked.
But yet her interest still was piqued,
She moved on still while wind still shrieked.

At the end of the endless flight,
Where dark was darker than darkest night,
And shadows stole every stitch of sight,
Forward she flew and fled from fright.

A dusty door was soon discovered.
Nervous nerves were soon recovered.
She opened the door and duly uttered,
“Well!” and in the doorway hovered.

The bitter room was bleak and blank.
The décor dwindled, drab and dank,
While shoddy floorboards skewed and stank.
She ran away from the reeking rank.

The second room proved prim and prime.
Decadent dancers danced on a dime,
While tiny toddlers teetered in time
To regal rhythm and rhyme.

The third room held a tiny door
More minute than many before.
Its smile its only stock and store,
It motioned for her to move in more.

Behind the door was brightness bright,
Much lighter than the lightest light,
And when she walked within the white
She realized things were quite all right.