One Nail Unpainted

She figures she will do it after she answers the phone
She waves her fingers in the air
hoping to dry them off
one nail is unpainted
she drops the phone
coughs once
collapses
the mortician wonders why one nail is unpainted
she figures the woman was painting her nails
when cardiac arrest took her life
she left one nail unpainted
the girl's mother painted the last nail,
her ring finger,
a deep blood-red
so that at her funeral,
everyone knew what did it.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2006

Poem

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