Laid to Rest by Renee Elizabeth

The painting was done in acrylics
on a windowpane scrounged

from a dumpster at Wesleyan.

A naked girl
cowered in a corner,
a church,
the pews made of razors
covered in crusts
of real blood,
the last one coming at her.

Outlines of her naked form
and the church window
were scraped,
etched by fingernail
to look like stained glass.

Left in a cemetery
as a gift to the dead,
stolen by a supposed friend--
it was never given a proper funeral,
paid respects, until now.

Goodbye is in the tossing of petals.

--Renee Elizabeth