Squares are numbered on the sidewalk
Numbered squares are on her wall
Buckled shoes are on the rise
And she was there to hear them fall
Not a ring that didn't stop
Nor a voice from the machine
Angels didn't hoist her, sobbing
Hounds of hell not howling
Pitter patter past the grass
The neighbor mows it now and then
There's gravel grinding into ash
Then both feet off the ground again
Often she would be reminded
Mr Kitten's bowl was bare
Licking Ruth to sounds of springtime
She's not going anywhere
No one's listening for a whisper
No one lives to slip and tell
No man left alive has kissed her
Licking Ruth because she fell
The lattice leads to ladybugs
Chalky rubies in the rough
If you land there, you're in love
If you can, you get back up
Rumbling through the kitchen tile
The hunger of a hundred years
She's been tired for a while
Fell asleep and woke up there
Past the porch, a pebble skids
And Ruth is sure which box it's in
She's heard every limerick
Should she want to, she would win
Cruelly though, she knew she'd pass
And she knew many awful things
Moments were left to be had
That easily would crawl away
"I know you're aching, so am I
It's no fun waiting, low and dry
Just one more day, and luck will find us
If we're patient, fluffy lion"
It'd been a bit since she last stretched
To reach the landline between rests
She pinched her skin to no surprise
It's being licked until she dies
There's honey in a stove top hive
And bunnies growing old outside
She fluttered like a swatted fly
Floating nowhere, knowing why
But Ruth was not a rusty liar
Hugged that hungry kitten tight
Stuck a needle in her eye
Then smothered him, and took a bite
"One more day till rescue rides in
Storming down the gates and doors
I'll be racing the horizon
On an armor plated horse"
Of course, the night was slow and lonely
Dawn approached with songbirds' joy
She tried to get a drumroll going
No one noticed with the noise
She told herself, "a little longer"
Crossed her arms, and didn't budge
And though her throat is full of frogs
She hums a tune because she must
At noon began the weekend bustle
Monday crept, and summer sprung
She doesn't move a single muscle
Holds her breath because they'll come
