Full Circle by Shawn Anto they buried a boy they never really knew sprinkled salt around the resting place to prevent desecration in their grief. did I ever come full circle like they wanted? would you say the redemption of my life is complete? if the dead want something: have a face cut it in half one for happiness one for guilt disregard any expectations and wait for answers after you pour the gasoline all over. I never asked you to set yourself ablaze to keep me and my brother close. the body settles in somewhere you can hear a lullaby a mother sings as she calls out to angels dirty wings still territorial caked with soil, uprooted. even in death you sing to enrapture and console me. will they even listen? do the dead want to hear— maybe they will this time as they begin their song too. I walk closer to the fog for I was closer to the devil.
Shawn Anto is from Delano, California. He was originally from Kerala, India. His writing has been featured or is forthcoming in Reed Magazine, The Decadent Review, Sierra Nevada Review, and elsewhere.