Mercy is gone and I guess

So is Thomas.

He tried to woo me

Like we are living in a world where the dead don't come back.

He tries to

K I S S

Me like we are lovers and not friends

The bruise he left on my shoulder and the

Cut I had made on his leg will last forever

But my kids are safe. We sleep

I'm a tree that night

I hear the yells of people

Screaming my name.

"JACKIE
JACKIE
JACKIE
JACKIe
JACKie
JACkie
JAckie
Jackie
jackie..."

They fade as I sleep I can't close my eyes

Because Mercy is crawling at my brain like

Birds towards rotting flesh.