there’s a woman

in this story

perhaps more than one

a woman and a history

and yes, a man

he’s here too

because aren’t there always 

two sides

to a story

one has more weight

the other

will burst

in the heat of the story

then there’s the dog 

he’s part of it 

buried

hurriedly, in the yard 

I’m sorry, not spoken 

because I am

doesn’t fit in this story 

it's hard to think

between sweet talk 

and a split lip 

but there’s a woman 

who cracks the door

slips into the night

and in the dark

as one

the crickets quit their story

Cindy Botha