the night felt heavy
like a weighted blanket
I kept trying
to push off
the air smelled
of garbage
and other
unsavory things
and I watched a rat
keep pace with me
as he ran next to the curb
I liked rodents
and hoped the small piece of bread
he held in his mouth
was enough to satisfy him
for a bit
I walked down the middle of the street
the dreams of sleeping people
flicking and fluttering
overhead
nightmares
ran bleeding
from open windows
and farther down the block
Death was
breaking into cars
hoping that someone
had been silly enough
to leave their keys
in the ignition
she had gone for joy rides before
said it was fun
but impractical
since she could
appear
and disappear
anywhere she pleased
in the blink of an eye
still
she liked to turn a physical key
and hear the engine
roar to life
as I walked toward her
she leaned against a gray Jeep
and waited
I told her I was just getting home
after a long night
split between
work and play
Death nodded
and said that her job was a 24/7 gig
but she didn't care
since she she never had to sleep
and she actually delegated
a lot of the work to others
once you get use to death
she sighed
it gets pretty boring
there are only so many ways
a human can die
she said death was like an office job
just with a lot more crying
I got to my building
and asked if she wanted to come up
for coffee
she said she'd take a rain check
since she just walked with me
to stop the moron
who had been following me
she said it wasn't my time to die
so she thought she'd do me a solid
I thanked her
told her to drop by anytime
she was in the neighborhood
and said goodnight
she turned
reached out
grabbed the guy
who had been trailing me
and snapped his neck
she let his limp body drop to the sidewalk
he thought he could still have you
she laughed
I thanked her again
and climbed the stairs
to my apartment
the rat following close behind
knowing I would give him
a nice slice of cheese
to share with his family
❤️
Picture: Piabay
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