The Night of the Day the Deputy Died

On the night of the day the deputy died
I awoke to the sound of gunfire
No, it was fireworks
New Year's Eve - the day the deputy died
People were celebrating, replicating gunfire
Oblivious to the angst in our community

That  night, I dreamt poorly
My son was a baby, bobbing on water in a car seat
Happy and pudgy.  And safe
I swam up to him to have a peek
And toppled the vessel into the water

Down he descended, my wide eyed baby boy
Eyes pleading - keep me safe Mommy
Get me.  I tried to swim to the bottom
Over and over I climbed out of the water
Diving in, again and again
Never deeply enough to save my baby boy

The water drained and my son was enveloped
Tightly, in thick gauge plastic
His body was misshapen, his face compressed
I begged for someone, anyone to
Cut the vinyl wrapper from my baby

The baby's father appeared with a long
handled, long bladed scissor
The kind reserved for Grand Opening ribbon cuttings
He asked if I was sure I wanted to free our baby boy
This plastic is pricy, irreplaceable..
And I opened my mouth and...
I screamed and I screamed and I wailed
Save my baby boy, save my baby, save my boy

Just as the deputies mother must have screamed
In her own bed that night, her own reality
Of the night of the day the deputy died