A Forthright Kill

He was sitting up straight

turned out toward the window

as one scenery and another

flashed

he smelled too much

like wasted sugar floating

up to the skin’s surface

he even finally looked perplexed

I mean...that is only my guess

No more nightmares

no more amnesty

no more who ate the last cookie in the cookie jar

He was lying in a hospital bed

glands swelling

butt turning purple

he smelled like wine

gargling in a garbage disposal

The last person he dealt with

was not the cholesterol

or an outraged artery

the last person was the person

who pulled the plug

there was no significance

affixed to that day

a forthright kill

people die everyday

Someone could have tripped

the family does seem tight knit

But today the coroner

doesn’t feel like doing an all nighter

Death Unknown

But you know the coroner knows

I mean...the coroner

can only guess