Preponderance of Evidence
When aid came it was tomorrow. Pulling snaps apart,
I’d rather wing it. Had that one claim. Ticked and tocked
it around my head. Strategies compounded the underside.
Warned as she tried to deny. There was hearsay, we swore.
We’d predict her next blank space. Speak to me as if I have
Zorro’s mask on. Then I’m a late baby-boomer, but not
dependent that way. Even the zinnia bed was kept under
wraps. Thick with gnats, thick with new lettering. I’d invent
a stitch for my sentence so its pulse would skip. When she
finally revealed her jagged hairline. Shhh-sounds came
intermittently with rainfall. Facts drawn on the matchbook
spoke to it. In exchange for a clean-up crew. Brought wings
to cover my face. Supposing they’d excavate soon. Warships
in the afternoon, warships in the evening. Strike and stay
if they don’t believe. A session goes unheeded. Over speakers
a muddied voice re-tells the score. Call on the staff for
the go-ahead. Slip like it got waxed and knew all along.