Antebellum

Idealized cabin in the woods

complete with crystallized mornings

and picturesque sunsets.

We are standing

on the frozen lake

like objects in a photograph.

Timidly into the forest,

he took with him

his father’s shotgun

and mulled it over

before finally deciding

to give it another chance.

Plantation houses obscured by kudzu.

A gravel driveway stretching outward

like a monochromatic blood trail.

Cicadas humming rhythmically

in the greenwood darkness.

All just out of reach.