4.2. Matt McGee, poem

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO THE SCHMIDTS?

That Saturday morning,

the really interesting part of the story

was buried at the very end.

“49 year-old Mr. Schmidt

was the fourth family member

to pass away in the family residence

in the last five weeks.”

Three days later,

the radio announced:

“Stephen Schmidt, sixteen year-old

computer hacker and amateur chemist,

is being sought as a person

of interest.”

“He’s not guilty,” said Pam the bartender

beside the dumpster that night. “My boyfriend

Todd is an insurance actuary, and he says

the company doesn't have to pay off

whenever there’s even suspicion

of murder. This could go on

for weeks, even

years.”

I left the bar that night

and passed the Schmidt house,

the flowers and paper-plate memorials

stuck into the chain link around the ruins.

And, though tempted, I didn't dial the cops

when I saw the slight, teenage boy

with familiar features lean down,

light a candle, then disappear again

into the shadows of the city.

Matt McGee is the editor/publisher of Falling Star Magazine in the Los Angeles area. His recent poetry collection "We Liked You Better When You Was a Whore" is available on Amazon.

art by: chiaroscuro:

“I am best known for being a trouble maker.”