One Year (Shadows) After His Relapse

After it happened I’m telling you I buried him  oh  pretty far down under

topsoil and his body I split into three sections    spaced these pieces at least 

twenty paces apart   dug deep into moist dirt beneath my fingernails      It was 

night        The legs I placed near our river     any attempt they make to 

stumble across now dragged undertow     The head I rolled into a ditch like a 

pumpkin past its prime a wet sound as it hit bottom covered it with stones   but 

we’ll still think of each other even with boulderweight pressing against temples      

And the torso     oh this torso      I’ve done it many times now   I’ve dug his 

torso back up     Or the torso digs itself out     I never know         it’s 

always nighttime     and there I lie in bed   trying to fall asleep   that damn 

torso warm and clammy against my chest         But I thought I told you     

after it happened       I thought I already explained how I tried to bury 

him and I think it was pretty far down

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Therin Johns grew up in Northern California and is currently completing an MFA at Eastern Washington University. Johns work has also appeared in Eclipse.