Cannot Wash Off! Poem by Eric Cockrell

i am the stranger
whose body stained
your trembling lips.
the man who came
in the night and
hauled away your trash.
the bird that sat
on your windowsill,
and sang unanswered.
the flash of lightning
that startled without
the warning of thunder.
the old socks you wore,
till they were full of holes.
the cry in the night,
and the arms that answered.
the explosion of light,
that named the darkness.
the phone that rang,
and no one was there.
the book closed on the shelf,
covered with dust.
the shade of the tree,
you cut for firewood.
the smell of death,
you cannot wash off!