Hereafter

job robotized          breakfast a bowl of stale
oats and water           favorite glass

cracked on the bottom          chipped where
his lip landed every time         he’d be fine       

no conflict left          dog ate it        life sat on it
headspace    noisy storms last night

wind playing tin like a theremin
bad dream at dawn          creekbed

mother stuck in flood           him shouting
nothing coming out        sweating awake          unable

to change          where is the value
in holding down the house alone? he spoke

to the toaster oven          it sparkled
last of the line          how would he die          

hunter’s bullet          bear’s hunger
timbering tree          no such thing as peaceful          

maybe natural          drowsing at dusk          lamplight
gap between heart-tocks          

wider and wider          crickets picking up the slack          
some bright hereafter          ballroom or bar

streamers          blaring jazz band
dark booth in the back          forebears

laughing          beckoning him
meaning at last          foiled

not to be found          worried over like a lost wallet
he shut the unwritten book

touched counter          cutting board
years sliced tiny          simmering stew

smoke sweeping over     ridgeline
he listened          sniffed          neighbor’s fire