Evidence

between the mall and the restaurant strip where for a block or two

the houses fall back then disappear like lucky breaks and the street

poorly lit un-peopled becomes a canvas for reading between the lines

their paths cross closely enough for her to see the blood half dried

crisscrossing his face his hands they do not make eye contact but she

looks away just in case this is one of those unsolved mysteries about

the disappearance of a young woman after a night out in a town where

everyone thought they knew everyone she’s seen them plastered on

shop fronts prophetic smiles staring out from home made posters

for days afterward she reconfigures the pattern of blood into

a birthmark or a tattoo reminds herself this is not a war zone

avoiding the funnies and the horoscopes she scans the local

news paper for evidence something like a circus in town

©Jane Williams

Peter Macrow,
Tasmanian Times Poetry Editor.
Tasmanian poets or those with a Tasmanian link are invited to send up to 5 poems which have not appeared previously in print or electronic media to:
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For the complete collection, click here: Poetry, Peter Macrow