By Juan Montoya
For the better part of a decade
Their paths had parted
He flew north
she, surrounded by her brood,
Stayed in the town
Stayed in the town
Time passed, they both met others
And started lives anew
When they met again, by chance,
At the local Walmart,
He knew something was wrong
Like a deer caught in the lights
She tried to avoid his gaze,
but couldn't
They hugged and their hearts clicked
Like the hands of the clocks in the section
"He died," she said softly into his wet shoulder
"In my arms, in my bed."
He went home with her and they sat silently
for along time, remembering
Then, as natural as a heartbeat
They embraced and connected, again
She had abstained since he passed, she said
because he was inside her when he gasped and tumbled,
and started dying
"Nothing worked," she had confided.
"I couldn't get myself to be with anyone,
Because I was terrified he would die, too..."
"What I needed was a remedio casero p'al el susto...
Gracias, mi amor."