Erstling

Death is a beige Mercedes sedan.

I am five and riding
In the back,

Eating small white chocolates,
My long, thin body

Along the butter-
Soft red leather seat.

What I want is to become

What I was
Before the accident.

You think
I’m a rumor.

I move from one world
To the next

Living inside a mink
Lined winter,

           God’s child-
           Like voice

           Singing quietly
           Inside me.

Cynthia Cruz, "Erstling" from How the End Begins. Copyright © 2016 by Cynthia Cruz. Used with permission of Four Way Books, www.fourwaybooks.com.