I wrote this down when I was sixteen or seventeen….it has traveled with me on a yellowing piece of paper for almost 30 years now and for some reason the visuals and the feeling it spawned inside me has stuck .  We have all had that moment when we’ve overslept and were convinced we were late… or suddenly awoke with a jerk because internal warning system had hit Defcon 4 and set off spastic charges in every limb of our body.  It’s that rush of adrenaline..fight or flight… or impending doom.  That’s what I feel every time I reread these lines.

That’s what this dream did to me…..a lingering shadow on the periphery of my mind.  Never really understanding why it came into existence but feeling it had purpose.   Anyways… I present to you.

The Asparagus Bed

I killed a girl                                                                                                                                   Someone that I thought I loved,                                                                                                            I buried her in the backyard                                                                                                               in the asparagus bed.

I strangled her, felt her gasp                                                                                                             Felt her heart go silent                                                                                                                           under my constricting grasp                                                                                                                   I didn’t mean it, maybe I did.

I buried her in the morning                                                                                                                     I buried her quickly without being scared                                                                                         I don’t remember much                                                                                                                   except the emptiness of her blank stare

We loved each other, I thought I did                                                                                                      I swore I’d never hurt her, I guess I lied                                                                                              It was an accident–something went terribly wrong                                                                      Seconds before I was holding her                                                                                                          Seconds later she was gone