this home won’t stand without the shadows in the basement
they rise tonight
and his wife feasted and slept
curled up on her side of the bed, he pictured her
then, while contemplating how to discard the evidence
he writes her name on the snow
and he is alive for a little longer

and for his daughter too – a name
tucked into his pocket, free of his prior charges
and still warm

the house is now lit and will rest until the stars fade
and she will wait for him
the man entering the house
long erased
and hushed away