Empty

. . . clear liquor bottle, drained of its over the counter poison . . .
. . . rusting barrel laying on its side in a barren field of junk . . .
. . . burned out chassis stripped of all that can burn . . .
. . . hearth blackened with soot, layered with ash . . .
. . . house repossessed, eviction notice stapled to the door . . .
. . . open mailbox forgotten by the world . . .
. . . shoe in the gutter without a matching pair . . .
. . . school on an unexpected holiday, flag half mast . . .
. . . computer disk cozy with a magnet . . .
. . . dog dish two days after tires screeched to a halt . . .
. . . smoking brass shell left behind for the police . . .

5/26/98