A shot in the night
set her body alight,
burning its way,
to the depths of her core.

And she moved from the bar
led away by sensations
convinced by beckoning acoustic persuasions,
to give her body to the rythm,
that lay the beat down,
to move her body to the music,
like her feet were beat-bound,
to let go and embrace,
the warmth of heat found,
to taste without reserve
the distillation of happiness,
freedom, and youth.

Slowly,
the lights,
flickering,
dimmed,
the shadows froze over,
and the chill crept in,

stuttering,

time stuttered,

stopping.

reversing
its spin,

retreating the seconds repeating,
the fleeting moments of her final hour.

The blood leaping
from the pavement,
to her torn skin,
into seeping wounds closing,
it rushed back in,

sleeping eyes,
weeping,
fluttering,
opened,
catching, fallen tears
crawling,
up her chin,

the windshield closed up,
uncracking,
as toes first,
she dove back into the seat,

screaming,

"!god my Oh,"

the car flipped in reverse,
back up the slope,
the fence unbroke,
and she fell back asleep,
swerving back on the road,
and slowly, rewoke,

the speedometer fell,
as backwards she drove,
back to the club,
where only an hour before,
at the peak of her high,
she said, "right all am I"
before,
she walked out that door.

A family left in shambles,

a lover left alone,

a friend I said goodbye to, who never made it home.

Take their keys, not their word,
that they will be all right,
lest your loved ones too,
are taken,
by shots in the night.