walking down from devil's den

i watched him carry her a mile
on his strong young back
under the moist thick cover of
mosquitoes, evergreens and sunbeams

she near-cooed with delight at his lean
muscled shoulders and squeaky bariton laughter

for a moment he was Jesus, saving us
a wasted trip, he was beautiful
and i loved him all the more with every
bite, with every long heavy step

her ankle wasn't broken, we found out
later at the clinic with the fat black doctor

"Ice and rest" he said, and she nodded
grimaced when he prodded and longed for
another ride on the back of that dear young man.