I saw the photos:
the girl's small body,
death grimace
blackened skull,
rope tethered
to one stick leg.

The stench
of  black garbage bags:
she was thrown out to rot.

Two baby dolls
with glass eyes
her companions
those last days.

The jury comes back: 
he's guilty, 
first-degree.

Photos of
the attic,
the dolls,
the walls 
she would 
have stared at
as she faded alone,
off, into nothingness.

-- Nancy Krzton

Nancy Krzton lives in Natrona Heights and is a law clerk for two judges at the Armstrong County Courthouse. Her publications include the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Along These Rivers: Poetry and Photography of Pittsburgh. Many writers featured in Chapter & Verse are guests of Prosody, produced by Jan Beatty and Ellen Wadey. Prosody airs every Tuesday at 7 p.m. on independent radio, WYEP 91.3 FM.