The Queen of the Damned

Shhh

I’m only going to say this once

While the god of doves

Sleeps behind a rusted-out Buick

While it’s rained from dawn till dusk

I pulled the bow back and settled

The arrow in the heart

Of the queen of the damned

Her minions rolled forward and vanished

Her black eyes closed

She left instructions for burial

In a far west mausoleum which followed

The arc of the setting sun

But I thought it best to leave her

For the dogs of the night

It rained from dawn till dusk

And then a crescent moon held Venus 

At the end Bonnie and Clyde were slaughtered

By Texas Rangers and Louisiana police

Twenty thousand attended

I made my way back to Manhattan

I made my way back to the city called home

I removed my boots and my clothing

And laid in a hot bath till the water turned cold

I stood and dried my bruised body

While the god of doves slept

While the queen of the damned attracted vultures

I put on a blue robe and lit a cigarette

Watching the crowded street

Through my sixty-seventh floor window

The phone rang

I let it

It stopped but then rang again

I got into bed and pulled the covers to my chin

And while the phone rang over and over

Fell asleep

© Phillip Marlin, 2019

Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow
Photo 1932 - 1934
Available through the Library of Congress
from Wikimedia Commons