In Other News
They called the circumstances drug-related
when they found her—face-up, open-eyed,
bloody, but fully clothed. Witnesses said
the murdered girl had not been violated
—and you could call that lucky. Her first stroke
of luck since the convulsive day she fled
from the cold kitchen where her mother spread
her fury every morning, black and thick
for breakfast, making the corrupted air
unfit to breathe. Forcing her out the door.
I’ll kill the little bitch her mother swore
when she comes crawling back from god-knows-where—
a comment the police chose to ignore,
because it hardly mattered anymore.
– marilyn taylor
"In Other News" first appeared in Smartish Pace, April 2004