| Deep inside the country, he went out for some air
|
| Amid an awful night of eating household objects on a dare
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| A tea towel, a handful of refrigerator magnets, and a watch
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| He staggered through the mudroom, got sick out in the street
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| The towel in tiny pieces, magnetic letters neat
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| And now arranged in such a way that they should spell his lover’s name
|
| And time was of the essence
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| The engine turning over, the summons in the shop
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| He could not recall the number, but he knew it was a lot
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| His belly warm with drink
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| He leaned into the freeway in the night
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| Investigating exit ramps, waiting for a sign
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| Scanning up the A.M. |
| band, sliding down the vine
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| He felt his stomach turn again and pulled off at the park
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| She was standing in the black oak, carving poems in the bark
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| Planted in the café, her bloodied saber drawn
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| Marking up the manuscript, hard against the dawn
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| She turns on the recorder and pulls a nervous breath before she speaks
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| «7 A.M. |
| Tuesday, January 9
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| Realizing this may put my career on the line»
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| The café man approaches, with a corded phone and tells her
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| «It's for you»
|
| Somewhere in the static, a disembodied voice
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| The circumstances changed, she will not have a choice
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| The line dies, crackles soft, then sputters back to life
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| «They found him at the black oak, they dug him up last night»
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| (7 A.M. Tuesday, January 9)
|
| (7 A.M. Tuesday, January 9) |