the defendant wrapped her body in a blanket

to transport her

after she was gagged and brutally beaten

to death

with a baseball bat that thunderously

pounded the desperate, pleading look

off of a face he'd often kissed

until her identity was almost lost

the defendant then proceeded to steal

his father-in-law's boat

so he could dump her body in a lake

as the final part of his murderous plan

a week after her body was found floating

the defendant stood in court and plead guilty

to the murder of a woman

he once called his girlfriend

but verdicts

no matter how just

can never bring you back

right?

the victim's mother once told a reporter

she still sees her

on clear nights in the lake

slowing aching for the moonlight

reaching for it so vividly

that the water ripples

in a playful ballroom quickstep

as if to charm her back to life

I can't say for certain if the mother's vision

wasn't just a grief stricken mind splintered by loss

but I can tell you the defendant

was sentenced to death

and on the night following his execution

there were reports of a soft, shapely silhouette

caught by the moonlight

of a nearby window

leaning over his corpse

seemingly singing him to sleep

with some kind of muffled lullaby

the gagged hum of love