my sister called
"they shot that ******* in the face.
finally justice served!"
she yelled

from a squalid pit
an angel rose
to kiss
my cheek
she was someone
I once knew

she told me
she loved me

her kiss
warm and delicious
as I remembered it
her lips as soft
as my now
opened soul
once felt them

through tears
she implored me
to let her go

she could
see my heart
was still beholden
to her kiss

her tears
an earnest
homily
of absolution

she long ago
forgot she was crying
yet I could taste her tears

her sorrows finally
released me
from my
primordial
grief

jbm
Oakland
5/4/11