All I think about is killing you.
With my .38 caliber pistol barrel
stuffed into one of your nostrils,
that you dig and pick.
The bullet trajectory angled at your brainstem.
A one shot explosion,
an extermination,
splattering toxic brain bits.
Then I will remove your fingers and teeth.
And burn the cabin down along with your body parts.
The stench will be unnatural like you.
A pile of grey ashes will mark
the off-grid one room
where you tortured others.
Next, I’ll burn the outhouse.
But not before I save my artwork
you placed above the putrid toilet hole
because you said it wasn’t good enough.
I will destroy all your journals
that contain your plagiarized poetry.
When I am finished,
there will be no trace of you anywhere.
Your cat that you ignored
will slowly starve to death.

Selected byJordan Trethewey
Image credit:Roger Starnes Sr

Kimberly McNeil is a retired physician who now pursues her artistic interests, namely poetry and self(-ie) digital photography. She lives happily in southwest Florida with her husband of 34 years but misses her son, Dashiell Patrick, who committed suicide in 2ol8, just days before starting college.

 Favorite poem, “Alone” by Edgar Allan Poe.