places where the bodies of murdered children have been found

places where the bodies of murdered children have been found: an incomplete guide to america


1.

at the water's edge


2.

in a shallow ditch
alongside
a desert highway


3.

hung from a tree in the
hills of southern california


4.

in a summer field in
rural pennsylvania


5.

in a dumpster


6.

two of them
in a clearing in the woods
of upstate new york and
both of them hacked
to pieces


7.

two more beneath a
freshly poured concrete slab
in the back yard of a
man from just down the street


8.

stuffed beneath
the kitchen sink while
the mother lies wrapped in
bloody sheets saying
it's not hers


9.

laid out neatly on
their parents' bed


10.

floating face-down in the tub


11.

floating face-up in the tub


12.

in a plastic bag


13.

in the locked closet of
a burned house


14.

in a suitcase


15.

IN A FUCKING SUITCASE


16.

would you
waste your breath on
a word as
pointless as mercy?