By Mark Anthony Pearce
He used to go hunting
With his father on weekends
Then after a while
The hunting stopped
Things grew worse
The mother
The father
Divorced
But she kept
The wedding ring
On her finger
They lived apart
In time
The father
Living on his own
Slowly drank himself to death
His pet dog
Resorted to drinking water
From the toilet bowl
He was cremated
And the mother
Kept the ashes in an urn
But later grew weary
Of keeping it
‘We’ve been divorced
For ten years’
She said
Mark Anthony Pearce lives and works as a Receptionist in Bristol, South West England. Mark’s first collection, co-authored with Danny D. Ford, ‘Perforated By Sirens’(December 2020) was published by Analog Submission Press. His poetry has been published in University of Essex Poetry Journal, BS Poetry Magazine and online, Inefável, Coronaverses, Winamop, Horror Sleaze Trash, Duane’s PoeTree, Piker Press, Albany Poets, Ten Million Flies, Open Arts Forum & Cacti Fur. Mark’s writing has also featured in ‘Anne Bean: Self Etc’ (Live Art Development Agency and Intellect Books, Autumn 2018)
