Crime Scene
Hugging the rusty,
white bathtub,
yellowed-toenail clippings.
In the kitchen sink,
dishes reeking of
sweat and seafood.
A mug, cold coffee,
left for dead.
A rancid, sour stench.
Lotion—white in
color, no fragrance,
not
particularly
sticky or thick
in texture—smeared all
over
every door knob
in the house. In the
closet, several
pairs of muddy
sneakers with their soles
ripped off.
Completely coating
the office desk,
what must have been a
dozen cans of
neon orange paint.
Hanging over
the window sill,
Shea Newman—
her stomach sliced
cleanly open, and
if you looked closely,
you’d have seen her
soul ripped out also.
Jocelyn Paredes is an emerging writer based in Long Island, New York. Currently, she is working to obtain her BA in English and writing at the SUNY Fredonia. Her work has been previously published in Gandy Dancer and her short story “Captured” received the Mary Louise White Fiction Award.