when the soul in her eyes sparks and flickers into ash, it leaves a dark, sudden and immediate, that only exists after a complete brightness.
2. dad in hospital
you're crumpled
like a hastily scrawled message tossed feet from a trash can,
unneeded after the event has passed.
I hold you in my hand, touch fingers to palm and squeeze,
gut-sure, now you're only something that happened to me
3. felo-de-se
I still say you left a note
because you hated to be misunderstood
and the next family that moves in
will find it under the mattress or behind the dresser
and wonder who is apologizing and for what
Author Bio:
Kate LaDew is a graduate from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with a BA in Studio Art. She resides in Graham, North Carolina with her two cats, Janis Joplin and Charlie Chaplin.