As we arrived,
The blue and and red lights
Flashed across the outside
Of Mamie’s house
Like color wheels
On flocked Christmas trees.
She lay unattended
In the ambulance bay
The back doors swinging wide
As they gathered their gear.
Cool fluorescent light leaked
Into the warm autumn night.
Next to a piece of toast,
In her bright kitchen,
A fried egg grew cold
On a small porcelain plate.
Nearby, the wall phone receiver
Lay askew on the speckled tile floor.
(January 23, 2024)
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