in spirit, a grey kitten
curls into
the crystal ball
of an old black man
whose white readership
never materialized.

across town, the man’s first book
is buried beneath a tree    
that was not a tree
when the book was buried.

as a character
in a far death experience
a white woman with a shovel

     her face a storm cloud
above a prison yard
with no prison

adds a bit
of humor.