5162 Colchaine

(more notes from the back of an ambulance)

In the white house on the corner
of Colchaine and 51st
there was a man who defied
gravity and managed to stay
standing for a day (or maybe two)
after he died.

The lights were off. His feet were bare,
his hair unkempt - as if he'd
woken thirsty in the night.
One hand was firm upon the faucet
while the other hand reached widely
for a glass.

They say that death's expected
by the old and the infirm, but I'm
unsure. He didn't lie serene,
he stood surprised.