Mikey ignored the rumors
that the old lady
who lived in the
old Gothic house
secluded on the
edge of a forest
was a witch
though he had
to admit
she looked like one
his friends dared him
to throw a rock
though one of
the windows in her house
not one to chicken out
he snuck up on
the old lady’s house
in the dark of night
when all the lights
were out in her house
and he heaved a rock
through a second floor
window
and sprinted away
so he wouldn’t
get caught
but that night in
his bed
he saw and heard
the old lady
cackling like a witch
in a nightmare …
right before his body
exploded in flames
and smoldering burnt ashes
were
his only remains
Bob Boyd