dead bird

I hear a thud from outside

Then the empty crash of a metal 

baseball bat hitting the driveway

I run outside, alarms raised, curious, scared

I see you walking away

Your body receding 

as the space between us grows

My eyes drop to the bat, discarded 

Then I scan the yard till I see 

The nest, fallen, felled

The bird

The broken bird lying on the grass.

You are gone. 

I run to the bird and scoop 

its battered body in my hands.

My thoughts rush & rage

What did you

Why did you

How could you

The lifeless bird in my palms, body broken

Where did you go, will you return, 

I can’t know

I kneel on the grass, 

cupping the bird in my hands

My mind races through possibilities, 

eventualities, explanations, motivations

The bird is dead, 

days pass, you do not return

I stay in the yard, turning its body over 

and over, pressing the places 

where the bones used to meet 

What did you

Why did you

How could you

The bones don’t heal, the bird remains 

dead, explanations don’t come and 

I am as broken as our life, 

my memories,

These tiny, hollow bones