Death in the house

Each time their eyes met, there was solace.

Hers spoke of a resignation...

A plea to be free silenced by tears

Well hid behind lashes sticking together.

A witness to her daily distress,

Peace was the most he dared convey.

 

The councilors stood quiet

Lowered heads and coats long;

The gentleman lay flat on the porch

His sideburns gummed with soupy blood.

Beside, sat a grey cat licking its paw,

Chasing which from the roof he fell.

 

The battered wife motionless and sore

A hand on her belly, caressing lovingly

Stared she at the man that relentlessly hit

The unborn she bore, now still in her womb.

Her gaze unfazed, searching for the eyes that

Bore witness to it all, silently. 

She saw him.

His eyes met hers and lingered a moment long,

A peace they reflected of a duty done

A loyalty unsullied as he faithfully cleaned

The lights of the sedan, wiping off

The blood of a fawn that abruptly sprung

Out of the woods, on his master’s way home.