I think I have finally accepted the inescapable fact
That death will not make an exception for me.
If it was going to do that, I think I'd have seen signs
By now, instead what I've experienced has been
A history of close calls, and inexplicable escapes,
Times when I should have died but somehow didn't.
Maybe that is why I thought an exception had been
Made for me, or would be when the time came.
I've seen animals react to death in unexpected ways.
The cat who curled up with Laurie after she died,
As though trying to warm her human back to life.
I've seen one crow mourning the death of another,
Standing, silent, over the still warm corpse of its
Compatriot, looking up from asphalt into the sky.
Lingering on the roadkill highway, trying to find
Reason, daring another vehicle to come kill it, too.
There are no exceptions, I understand that now, not
For me, not for the crow, not even for those I love.
And not for you either.
EXCEPTION by M.J. Arcangelini | Sandalwood & Vanilla Poetry Reed Diffuser
$15.00Price
M.J. Arcangelini, (b.1952, PA) has published extensively in magazines and online, as well as over a dozen anthologies. He has 8 published collections, the most recent of which are: PAWNING MY SINS, 2022 (Luchador Press), FIERCE KISSES (Rebels & Squares Press) 2024, & HOOKING UP (Pure Sleaze Press) 2025. He has twice been nominated for a Pushcart Prize.
