She built a house for the fae
A little structure made
of leaves, sticks, dirt
And believed it to possess the strongest foundation
on Earth
As if it would outlast the Appian Way
Her very own Giza complex, she’d say
But it stood merely three feet in front of the door, directly in the way
And I knew that before the day was done
my prophecy would come true
As soon as the Sun lowered itself down
    the mountain
It was about -then- that I felt this regret
Another reminder to watch where I step

In this life, it pays to be careful, observant, mindful and gentle
And though accidents are just that, this life isn't a rental
Once put into the world, our actions cant be undone, despite our intentions
So pay attention to any hidden holes
Or spaces where the rocks run
It's all -fun- and games until you break an ankle
And if you must stray from the path at some random angle, it is wise to exercise caution
You never know what will happen, what you'll step on
Who is watching

One sunny day, I was out in my garden
The dirt was hot as I was weeding and watering
When I caught a whiff of a rotting carcass
-Of course-
It took merely seconds to find the source, which was a small, flattened rabbit
And I realized what probably happened
I think it got caught while I was moving some pots and plants
And whether it was the weight of the soil or wrought by my -hand's- hastened actions to get out of the heat
the poor soul was crushed into nothing but meat

How long before I even noticed?
Days?
Weeks?
I felt like an ***
If only I had checked the grass, it may not have died
Inside I felt the pain of every bug, slug, bird, every creature
inadvertently squashed underfoot
or hit by my car or buried far down within the vaults of my mind
Accidents, yeah, but still I find my thoughts returning to deer that collide with my vehicle
And I just happened to be he who wields the sickle- or scythe
Trading life for a life

It hurts

But it's the nature of the universe
Small things get eaten up or otherwise destroyed by larger things
Gravity brings space rocks towards the world where they burn up in the atmosphere
And gravity steers my footfalls onto unsuspecting insects
I mean, I'm a big guy, so I try my best to walk softly throughout life
And step over the ant when I can
But how often does my size 13 come crashing down on rabbit homes?
How many broken bones am I responsible for
That I don't even notice?

There was a mouse in my living room the other night
I wouldn't call it an intruder, they’ve lived here longer than me
But I couldn't risk it spreading disease through an errant mite or feces, so I made a choice
At first I tried to scare it away with a loud stomp and my voice
back into whatever hole it had come from
I just wanted to give it a chance to run
And wait for a trap so I could relocate it
But it just kept on trading spaces between underneath couch and TV stand
And in catching this mouse, too heavy was my hand, somehow I hurt it
So I had to **** it, or let its suffering prolong
But it felt so wrong and haunts me more than it rightly should
I suppose guilt would have it that this encounter, this little creature now inhabits
A spot on my heart, buried next to the rabbit
Along with every wheeze and spasm that punctuated a pet’s final breath

It's death
So much death
It all aches in my breast
And time keeps me waiting
For a moment of rest
I've spent many long hours confronting my fears, trying to take back my power and release stifled tears
Nothing waits in the dark, I’ve known this for years
Except for that ******* mouse that I wish I just didn't see
And all the things that have died because they've crossed paths with me