Behind the Door that Will Not Lock
       

You fill an abandoned house with pine trees. Needles spill from
broken windows.

I meet a man at a house without a locking door where he grieves
over his deceased sister. We locate her spirit in a doll whose eyes
blink while its body rests.

You stand on a rooftop and admire your work. You do not mind
looking down.

His sister's ghost moves mechanical toys over the scuffed floor.
A mouse in a yellow car. A bear in a motor boat.

You take a ladder to the ground then shove another pine through
the front door.

Behind the door that will not lock, toys stop moving. The doll's
eyes no longer blink, signaling departure.

You drive to another abandoned house. You pull a tree from
the truck bed and open an unlocked door.

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Copyright © 2017 Julie Brooks Barbour All rights reserved
from Haunted City
Kelsay Books
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission