Homeward bound

The day before, the day before

The day before, yesterday

I found you staring up at the sun

On the side of the road

Neck stretched, arms and legs splayed

Everything you owned on your back

Shell crushed flat.

Hungry birds had not found you

And flies had not come yet

To lay eggs in your flesh

Was it raining that night;

Were you on your way home

From grocery shopping in someone’s yard

Or out on the town because it’s spring?

Frogs call all night begging for sex

Do turtles make a sound

Or were you the silent type

Barely a grunt until done?

Was this an accident

Or did someone swerve to hit you

Happy to feel alive

Laughing at the thump under their wheels

On their way home from the grocery

Or a night on the town?

5-6-21