CROWNED BY BLOOD
I am the animal now, the beast that feeds on guilt and grief and the desperate hope that somehow, some way, this bloodletting might mean something.
By the time I reach the last grave a simple stone marked only with the word "Unknown" my knees are slick with mud, and the sky has grown heavy with promise. The air tastes of coming rain, electric and sharp, like the moment before lightning strikes. My hand throbs with each heartbeat, blood seeping from a dozen small wounds, mixing with the dirt under my fingers.
For the first time in months, the clouds break. Rain falls that might wash away my sins.The drops are gentle, almost loving, as they wash my blood into the earth where it mingles with th