Poetry: The Porch

The Porch

by Kathryn Ormosi

I’ve wiped up the blood

as best I can

I’m afraid some

seeped

through the cracks

And no matter how hard I try

I can’t seem to get it all.

I know it’s there

darkening

as time goes on

but it never quite goes away.

I can’t believe

how much there was.

How it pooled

around your head

I couldn’t stop it

from coming out

You couldn’t move, I know.

But your eyes followed me

silently,

fading

with each pump of your

heart.

The gunshot took me by surprise.

I knew about the gun.

I didn’t know you were sitting out there,

each night

watching for the intruders.

I didn’t think the trigger

would be so easy to pull.

I didn’t know

how much blood

there would be.

And how

you never

quite

go

away.