Meltdown

He stepped past the police cordon,
put on the mandatory surgical gloves,
pulled out his notepad and pen
and considered why,
they had asked a poet
to visit the scene of a crime.

The force of the explosion had strewn
about human parts. The cadaver's pride
was on the commode. His vanity
hung by the mirror. The libido sat
exposed on the loveseat. Gobbets of guilt,
were hidden in denial behind the door.

But most telling, his stupidity
was splattered on the wall
behind the writing desk in particles
of dura mater and blood. And there
in front of the corpse was the culprit:
a journal of love poems in the victim's handwriting.

* This poem first appeared in the journal Poor Mojo Almanac.

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Biography

Nick Bruno's poetry has appeared in publications such as : Another Toronto Quarterly and Poor Mojo's Alamanc. He has been nominated on several occasions for the IBPC (InterBoard Poetry Competition) award. He holds a Masters in Sociology along with a T.E.S.L. degree. He recently spent several years in Europe, where he taught English as a second language. He is presently living and writing in Montreal.