Nancy L. Meek

I’LL ALWAYS SEE YOU THERE

In my mind I’ll always see you there
lying abandoned among the leaves
death’s perfume lingering in the air
long-shed blood upon your sleeves

Your clothes cast upon the ground
imitating garbage there beside you
cold fingers clutching the stick you found
guarded by flies swarming around you

Tell me, Sister, what was the thought
racing through your mind near the end
were you at a catch-22 crossroads caught
at a damned-if-you-do, dead-if-you-don’t bend

Could you see your anxious family there
awaiting your swift and safe return
as his cheap cologne stenched the air
causing your stomach inside to churn?

Could you feel every inch of his member
as he shoved his weapon inside of you
did you force yourself to remember
as you reached for that stick beside you?

Did he tell you before he pulled the trigger
“You know, I really ought to kill you!”
Did his gun make him seem a whole lot bigger
did thoughts of your small children fill you?

In my mind I’ll always see you there
the fear running like deer through the wind
your soul racing from that bullet in the air
tearing a path toward the light at the tunnel’s end

Through the years we’ve shared so much… you and I
sisters-in-tragedy caught in the forest breeze
the truth slowly seeping into my words by and by
like shadows of sunlight sifting through the trees

Author’s Note: Dedicated to the memory of Robin Margiotta, 25, beloved wife and devoted mother to three young children. Missing for thirty-four days, Robin was found dead December 2, 1983 in a wooded area some 25 miles from her home. Her murderer, Charles E. Blake, was captured shortly after and brought to justice. After his confession and trial, he is currently in prison, serving 7 life sentences plus 355 years on the 20 charges brought against him. Robin was his last victim in a trail of kidnappings, murders, rapes, housebreaking and armed robberies. Rumor has it that he will never see the light of day outside the prison walls. May it always be so!