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A Child's Corpse

A child's corpse
Begins to cook
In the noonday sun

A single fly
Lands
On one milky eye

Cicadas sing
Dust devils rise
And a round is chambered

While I
Put down the newspaper
And take another sip
Of my French Vanilla Latte

The child's corpse
Begins to bloat
In the afternoon sun

Swarms of flies
Cover
It's milky eyes

The cicadas are quiet
The dust has settled
And a round is fired

While I
Take another bite
Of my Caesar Salad
And reach for the iced tea

Another child's corpse
Is basking
In the sunset

A single dog
Sniffs the air
For it's location

The dog barks
The evening air shifts
And a truck's engine starts

While I
Put down my book
Reach for the light
And quickly switch it off

Authors Bio:

Jim Bush is a 67 year old, Vietnam-era veteran, currently living in Texas. He was raised in a military family. His father received the Silver Star for directing troops while under air attack at Clark Field in the Phillipines, survived the Bataan Death March, and spent three and a half years in a Japanese POW camp. He also received the Purple Heart for wounds received while a  POW. Jim served as an army photographer in Okinawa and Korea. In 1987 he traveled to the war zones of Nicaragua with a veteran's group dedicated to stopping the Contra War.