“our best boy”
by Lorraine Murphy
He died while we danced
on a drip while we drank.
Max. Four years old.
In a warm blanket
on a cold New Year's Day
we brought him home.
Was something he ate
a poisoned mouse or bird.
The circle of death.
Powerless to change.
Both scorpion and frog he
died by the hunt.
We'll bury him when
the torrential rain stops.
Living in Ireland, Lorraine Murphy is a member of the writing group Inklings for many years but is relatively new to the online world of writing. Wife to Brendan and mother to three taller people ranging in ages from 12 to 20, she is the 2022 winner of Fiction Factory's flash fiction competition. She enjoys flash fiction, short poems and is currently working on her third novel.
