Roadkill
by Marlo Herndon
Leaking out against stiff black pavement, Â Â Â Â Â
     oozing chunks of red out         Â
his pale stomach -the body blocking    Â
the way to every love
to ever be mine. Â Â Â Â Â
Abhorrent, his limbs stretch out         Â
as if trying to grab & pin me-Â Â Â Â Â
the indent in his chest
the only fresh thing for miles. Â Â Â Â Â
The sight of the carcass flares my eyes         Â
creating crisp tears     Â
that only cling to burn
-why else would this body not turn to ash.
     Simply swerving to steer clear
          of his memory fails me,
     the antlers pierce the tires,
my head thrashes with the fallen glass,
     a shard seeps through & buries itself Â
          in my beating heart- it refuses Â
     to stay away,
births hands of red
     but not eyes -in protest,
          longing for the gentle love I knew.
     The newborn hands steer
back towards the vile
     memory -that refuses
          to die -that violation he committed
     between my thighs.
He gave me life
     some days, which in the after          Â
is what kills me, what made the hands     Â
ignore the road signs,
the memory of the good    Â
guy I saw before,         Â
with a smile brighter than streetlights,
     who’d put my hand on the stick shift
to show me we were safe
     to give me an allusion
          of control, before
    Â
he took me for that spin,
that forced collision – his keys
     in my ignition against that bedframe-
          he ignored the red lights I gave him.
     What remains of him can be found
on every road
     & every passenger I welcome
          for as long
     as my skin burns &
the organ in my chest remains
     & tries to learn – to live with
          the buried on the way.
About the Writer...
Marlo Herndon is a local poet & author. Currently they are invested in learning from their community & creating more art.
About the Artist...
Jeremy Hall has been going to Savnnah Arts Academy for 4 years and this is one of the pieces he's most proud. He finished this while I had covid in 2021 and believes it shows his best abilities in his most confident areas of expertise.