Where the Emptiness Is
by Aaron Bacon
 

In the brief time after a desert rain
When the clouds still cover the sun
And the rainbow can't be seen yet
When there is a dim grey tint to the world
And the earth is a cold damp rag
That soothes the pain and keeps it constant
It lets you relax and settle down
But slowly freezes you like the dead

A bullet in the chamber
The swift automatic cock of the hammer
And the violent reverse in direction.
The explosion on impact, and the fire out of the barrel
The sudden silence after a gun shot
And the smell of gun powder in the air
The slow motion of movement
The flight on an empty nine millimeter shell to the ground
The dropping of a head, and expression

When the clouds cover the city low and thick
And dance their dance of the death around the third floor
And the wind chills the tips of your toes
In the glimpse of a starry sky through the eye of the storm
When the void of montage of grey ghost
Cast a solemn light into the branches of a tree
During the formation of goose flesh over your body
And the rush from the chills on your arms
When the cirrus clouds drift through the liefeless air like spirits

When the phone rang at seven a.m.
Announcing the last of the cowboys was gone
Wyatt Earp had left his family
The hawk wouldn't be returning to his nest
And the wrangler had left the Rodeo
Later in the day and the following day
An empty dial tone
And no messages or corrections

In the fresh grave of a child.