It was a punishingly cold night in February when Jake said goodbye to the only creature he’d ever loved and been loved by in return. After months on the run, cash was hard to come by and he could no longer risk being recognized in the supermarket when he managed to scrounge up enough change for a bag of dog food. He saw the posters almost daily now, sketches of his face just below the words “WANTE...

first came the agony

sharp and unrelenting

they say time heals all wounds

but just as the scar tissue is closing over

as the stab dulls into an ache

i hear a laugh that sounds vaguely like yours

and one by one my sutures fall to the floor...