up
B-re-- a]k \i\ ng  
Is hard
.


She asks me, “Why?”

Then comes the   L     o         n          g                  

pause.



I don’t have an answer for her
I think I do…
I don’t want to say
So I just stare
At her teddy bear,
Lying there
On the cold tile floor.

Its on its back,
Arms and legs spread

Like it’s  f  
                   a
                     l
                      l
                      i
                      n
                ­     g
                  
    Into a dark void,

        An unfathomable
                                     \             /
                                       \          /
                                         abyss

I don’t even know if it’s a girl or boy
But its stomach is bulging…
Is it pregnant, or does it have kidney disease?

Perhaps…
It is reaching the bottom of the pit,
Where falling victims meet poison-tipped s-p-e-a-r-s---

Maybe…
The bear is removed from time, captured in a still photo
[Paused]
During the moment of  impact
When…
Its life flashes before its eyes
And the spears begin to penetrate and pierce through its back,
Tearing, first, through the worn outer layer,
Once touched by loving hands
Then…
Stabbing through the puffy cotton insides,
Where a heart should be



   And          there
    The bear lies
       Without
      Any hope
Or    reason    to
       Live. It’s


           life



And I can only watch
          And feel
As this poor creature
Goes through its unbearable
                  Pain…

Of suffering, of dying…

On the inside,


I have no answer