Defenestration


No one wanted to tell her
What had happened exactly
They danced around the fact
Of how her father had met
His end, implying only
It had been quick, but nobody
Seemed able to meet her eyes
When she asked where was
He taken, what hospital and,
Should she rush there?


No, no – there was no need
For hurry – that was clear
So she knew he was dead
That was certain, but how?
Again, with the tip-toeing
Around, not coming out
With it – finally his boss
Just blurted it out – said
He was sorry, didn’t know that
Joe from Accounting was so
Unstable, ready to go postal
At any moment


When he finally did, her Dad
Just happened to be standing
closest; and old Joe grabbed him
In a kinda bear-hug and rushed him
to the big floor to ceiling windows—
It wasn’t until then that she
noticed the plywood covering—
Plate-glass windows that they had all
Assumed were super-strong,
Unbreakable in fact, but as it turned out,
Shattered on impact, like egg-shells
And did so when Joe released her Dad,
Tossing him like a Frisbee against them


Shattered as her Dad sailed on out
Of the thirty-fifth floor and plunged
To the sidewalk below
“Defenestration,” the boss said
“That’s what the cops say
It’s called when someone
Gets tossed out a window ...”
She just stared at him wondering
How he could take such evident
Pleasure in telling her such news
Talking about her father like he
Was nothing more than a child’s toy
And why it was necessary for her
To know this last useless piece of
Information- why he didn’t just stop
Talking now – why she felt so angry.


S.E.Ingraham©