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Last Smile (The Pale Man)

"The Pale Man looks out into the pouring rain..."

By Kourtney RisherPublished 7 years ago 2 min read
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The Pale Man looks out into the pouring rain through the window of a broken down tenement attic,

sitting on the floor holding a bottle of Sailor Jerry’s.

Through the window on the adjacent street, he sees a man walking a woman to her door.

As the couple kisses it rains harder.

Tears stream down the Pale Man’s face, as if on cue.

Then a black cat walks to the Pale Man, its eyes matching the full moon.

“Why do you do this to yourself?” asks the cat.

The Pale Man downs three swigs of rum and says, “It’s better to feel pain than nothing at all.”

Her beautiful pale face with jade eyes and raven-black hair flashes in his mind.

The downpour outside becomes torrential and the flash of lighting hurts his eyes.

The Pale Man winces, gets up, and closes the blinds.

He grabs his bottle and takes a swig as he walks to the bedroom, the cat in tow.

The Pale Man sits on the bed and stares at the spot where she used to lay.

He feels that spot and finds it as cold as his heart has become.

The Pale Man cries, matching the leak on the wooden ceiling.

The cat leaps on the bed as the Pale Man takes another swig.

“Don’t you ever want to be happy?” says the feline.

“Never without her,” says the Pale Man.

“Why don’t you join her then?”

The Pale Man puts down the bottle and replies, “I’d love to.”

The cat replies, “I’ll be back in a minute. I have an idea.”

The cat runs off into the dark hall and comes back with a rope and two hooks in its mouth.

The Pale Man has a gleam in his eyes and grabs his gifts.

The Pale Man ties his rope around the wooden frame on the ceiling

then he ties the hooks to the knotted left and right ends of the rope.

He sticks the hooks in the corners of his mouth and hangs himself.

The hooks cut a ghastly grin on his face.

As the Pale Man takes his last breath, the cat smiles and whispers,

“I thought I’d never see you smile again.”

surreal poetry
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About the Creator

Kourtney Risher

I'm a poet and an aspiring novelist from El Dorado, AR.

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