26 May 2022

I did not know

i did not know 
the death rattle 
would come 
so soon after 
the plastic one 
was gifted
as a hand-me-down. 

i did not know 
you would be stolen in an afternoon, 
soaked 
before a summer vacation. 

how dare anyone do this to you. 

to deny you the discomfort
of growing into 
odd features, 
gaps in smiles, fixed. 

no. instead, 
you were stolen. 
no one had that right. 

and out will come 
the phrases 
we have heard before, 
about heaven 
gaining little angels, 
about prayers, 
"let me know if you need anything,"
"i am so sorry for your loss," 

and none of these
words, these deaths 
will serve 
as a unifying action, just 
separate fingers 
dancing, as they do, 
across little keys, 
until we say enough.

how many are enough






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