I watched you die Little Bird,
How you squirmed, the crazy cat
Plucking you gracefully
From your aborted flight,
Crimson spurting copiously
Across cut grass,
Eyes rolling into limpness
Fluid discharging
From every orifice,
Your young opponent
Licking chops and feather wet;
Bloody whiskers white.

Taut line of thin Manila,
Rope creaking
On dusty rafters swinging.
In your shame.
Forty years of dead weight,
Then like a pendulum still.
Three days before we knew.
Turntable stylus on vinyl dry
Nina Simone
Oblivious to your indignity,
A patch of urine dry
When muscles collapsed
No control,
The noose nudging breath
From a tired body,
Early Summer Rain.