In every town when I was younger
some women were slain in real life:
the prostitute and the spinster
and the local councillor’s wife.
The one who sold sex for a living
was thought to deserve her demise:
first she was raped in an alley
then wrapped in tarpaulin to die.
The plain introverted old virgin
was dumped in the woods for a year;
police arrested a loner
who’d never been anywhere near.
The spouse of the brash politician
was found with a hole in her head;
gangsters disposed of his hammer
and burned all the sheets from her bed.
The newspapers published the stories;
we bought them with prurient glee;
we crouched in fear of our shadows;
we cherished our locks and our keys.
In every town when I was older
some women were slain in real life:
the prostitute and the spinster
and the local councillor’s wife.
Albert Kirk Jr is from Ayrshire, Scotland. He is writing a novel, the first installment in a YA science fiction epic, and has been writing poetry since August 2020.
SkywayJournal 