On the corner of Congress and Crawford,
is a dead armadillo
Its legs are all to the sides,
like it's just sleeping
or laying down
The only thing betraying that it is, in fact, dead
Is the crushed red crescent moon
Gaping from its side,
the insides all spilling out,
and the smell, too, of course

I've never seen an armadillo before
and now I have, I guess
I just wish he wasn't dead
and I'll bet you he does, too

Across from him,
on the sidewalk
A wooden light pole stands
weathered and graffitied and giving way to rot
It is Easter, and someone has taken a cross,
silver and rusting and pocket sized
And hung it from two of the thousands of crooked nails
stabbed into the failing wood
And as it glitters in the 2oclock sun I can't help but wonder
“Did it see this happen?”
Or was the person who left if just a little too late
and this creature was already gone?
Or, maybe,
Was he walking along and saw it there
And threw himself in front of the car,
some ancient borrowed fit of fervor,
Brand new and incomprehensible to him
Yet unable to stop the urge to keep some long dead someone company
with the knowledge of a shared
“Sacrifice”?
He was probably just distracted by the sun as it bounced off the metal

The cross is in my jewelry box now,
top drawer, with the cushions for rings that stay empty,
Hidden beneath the bracelets she made me
And now that Easter is over,
Whoever left it there might come back to reclaim it and see that it's gone
And maybe they'll think they caused an awakening,
or a fit of destructive rage;
The truth is a lot more simple

If Jesus knew it,
this thing that I now know as well
Then being forced to see this  worshipped
everywhere everywhere everywhere
Is a cruelty he doesn't deserve,
All things considered
And maybe he's happy to have one less around,
mocking and falsely pious
And if he isn't,
I know Mother Mary will be
So full of rage for her son, her baby boy,
The armadillo crushed in the street

Leigh Moll is from everywhere, but if you ask her she'll say Virginia- the mountains are really pretty. She's been published in Moody Magazine and HAUNTER Review under the pen name Amadeus; the Morgue Magazine, and is a contributor for Malevolent Dark. She spends her free time volunteering at her local dog shelter and harassing every cat she sees.

Find her on Instagram: @vampirejuicebox17