Zebras in Purgatory

There is a wait and you don’t show up. 

Never appear in dreams as promised. 

There is no other side. Nothing

happens, you said, nothing.

 

I think of you when a crow caws, 

a voice that reminded you steadily of Robert Plant.

And I remember your zebras 

because what would be the point in riding a horse through purgatory. 

The zebra looks cooler, you said and all the little girls would be jealous.

Monica Rico is obsessed with the Saturn V rocket, Japanese knives, and the proper cooking of eggs. She has an M.A. in Creative Writing from CCNY and spends most of her time editing a literary journal, working around the food industry, and reading.