The coal burner's tucked
in the basement. Paul
shuffles down the stairs
intending to stoke
the furnace. But the sole
of his brother's shoe
greets him, then the butt
of the gun, then the blood
trailing across the floor.
Paul kicks his older brother, 
swears at life draining away.
The body becomes eyes, 
sunken and pulled away 
scattering across the cold.
Paul finds himself
feeding 
a brocade of coal
to the furnace.
Heat burns
his face, slides down 
the cement wall
-- a deniable
gravity
forces
the blood 
trimming
his shoes
to a dry wait.