having abandoned the search

I employed the church key

his sister gave to me
she removed it from

the key ring 

after they found his Oldsmobile

abandoned

and idling

near the river

 

sending a bottle cap

off the bridge

I watched it’s arc 
satisfied that

we looked

longer I suppose

than most would have
what is still unknown is

whether he offed himself 

or simply walked off

              to find unfamiliar

              arrangements

              in the stars
he was often heard to say

that his soul

          whatever that entailed

wasn’t packed properly 

loose in the corners

bunched uncomfortably

in strange places
I like to think 

he went to get a refit
to just once 

stride through the blight of his 

streets and alleys

like a banker on Savile Row
some I reckon are looking yet

me?

I’m just hoping for a chance encounter
a question at the ready

about what 

he has seen
(c) 2016 Fred Whitehead