Justice dawdles like a penguin fresh out of water
sniffing with its nostrils
who owes who;

Time knows better to twist both silos
tuning gravy for the eyeballs
Etch-a Sketch;

Like the ketchup
our son squeezed on everything
he'd show him,
so much
anger
soooo much
hurt
when they finally met again -
catch up on everything he loved;

Except this time
crossover
the map to the treasure
sank further down
in my gut;

Another box
with a question mark
ordered child support arrears reduced
to blah thou blah
blah hun blah
for blah long blah
and at that paper cut
straight up shot my finger from its compass
and duct taped the wound to my mouth.

I didn't see
any of it thereafter
though I felt him over and over
like a placeholder with Dad's name on it
I knew he was there
in the wings were the footnotes
punching out postcards
he was staring right through their DO NOT DISTURB
still beating back blood daemons while a tortured soul
was consumed by these zip lines as sinkers;

Who stiffed the scales
and folded their elbows
and patted their backs for a job well done
then signed the last box
in big bold capitals
and sent ghost missile
through a slit in the sky
oblivious to what imprint
the screamers would have on their recipients;

The COURT FURTHER ORDERED
as of this D.O.D. -
SUPPORT WOULD TERMINATE
"the obligor deceased. "

12/09/2013

Posted on 12/09/2013
Copyright © 2024 Elizabeth Shaw