5.

“I told you not to come this way,”

All menace and bone fragments.

We say run

But our throat has filled with dust,

And she can’t run, couldn’t ever.

When cats fall,

They land flat, like pancakes.

They say this is the best way for humans to land, too,

If you’re ever falling off a building.

Pray for that kind of faith,

pray not to flinch or look away.

Realize a second before the bat swings

that faith has nothing to do with it.

She runs.