Two Poems by Holly Day

The Night 
~~~

we didn’t want to see the body

the smell was coming from her apartment

and our mother had shot herself.

I said I wanted proof she was dead

I asked, “Are you sure you burned the right body?”

the urn was so small. copper, tastefully etched

later, my brother and I got so drunk

we got into a fight, took it out to the street

I tried to hit him and missed.

~~~

In The Seat Beside Me 

~~~

I can feel the knots

the odd angles, the bones,

want to tell her to run, run, run

but deep inside, I know she will just go home.

She sits so close to me, pressed against her seat

the damage rippling under her thin skin

hands shaking.

~~~

--Holly Day