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.