Clues to unsolved cases

by Mark Ryan Smith

That night they watched

the slow burn
of the unused outbuilding,

residents reported
a gentle pulse
of blue light.

On the hanging jackets
she smells smoke, finds
a tideline of sootstains
in the porcelain sink.

On July 15th  
residents reported
the mass breakdown
of domestic appliances.

Every morning for a month
the thick smell of low tide.

The story goes
he had a talent
for the zodiac,

that he was kind of heart
but touched in some way.

A jagged glass muffled
in a bunched red shirt.

On September 13th
residents reported
a terrible taste
in the water,

and that the only thing
to rely on was the mail
never coming on time.