The body falls again as you try to hold it up
You put your ears to the chest and when you hear nothing,
I see it-
The slow way your face scrunches in pain
Then the tears roll down your face.
We both saw the man walk like he was running away from something, someone
He bumped into you and your cup emptied its content on your shirt
You’d loved the colour mix of the shirt, but now you may never retrieve it
The beer has mixed with his blood
The man walked away after murmuring something, maybe an apology
You go after him and Even if I’m outside, I hear your screams at the other side of the bathroom wall
You rush to the body when the gun goes off quietly
You hug it and save the head from landing with a thud
I want to ask if you know him, you are screaming, not the same way you screamed after the beer poured on you
You are screaming because that is how you are, you feel everyone’s pain
The body falls again and this time you take your hands to your head and walk towards me
“What have you done?”
This is not the first time but you ask me like you do not know I hate when anyone vexes you
What a gorgeous and completely gut wrenching poem! What we do to ‘protect’ the ones we love, especially against slights, real or imagined. The damage we impose. Well done!