Drowned Rats

There was a possum in the pool
today
Reclining on its back
fur ruffled by a current
eight feet under.
A victim of curiosity,
or the Animal Mafia.

We had to pull him out
(and by we I mean me.
Don’t listen to the others)
using the pool skimmer
his body bending it
almost in half.

“He must have drowned
trying to get a drink of water,”
my mom says, dripping disinterest.
How ironic, I think.
I wrap it up, and
give it a proper burial,
in the Dumpster.

**

The Talent Show, or, A Sonata in Life Minor

Storm clouds are brewing in the chasm of humanity.
A pastel diversion to the world,
its participants unsure of life, or love,
or any of the things they talk about.
The sparkly aftermath of the war is not so sparkly anymore,
and the only roses strewn are the ones flying,
liquid from the people’s necks.

One by one,
the children take the stage;
A dance, a song, something to take along,
this is an ancient ritual,
and one they will be repeating
later in their life.
An endless sonata, forever stuck
in first movement.
The audience laughs in all the wrong places,
and the bombs continue falling.